Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe
by Fenikkusumaru 2.0
Summary: Meet Kurogasa Kururugi. A 16 year-old aspiring chef who will attend Tōtsuki Culinary Academy. With training from his Shishou, he will use all of his cooking skills as he joins Soma and the 92nd Generation in reaching the top while walking the Path of Heaven.
1. Dish 1

**Fen:** Hello fans! Fen and Queen here and we are in a new story frenzy!

 **AQ:** I'm starting to feel like someone should be paying me.

 **Fen:** Uh… what?

 **AQ:** Never mind, I suppose a Queen needs to lead her subjects to glory.

 **Fen:** Uh… okay? ***shakes heads*** Anyways, I just recently got into Food Wars and holy crap it was amazing!

 **AQ:** And me as well, more because I'm a chef. Learning all of these skills broadened mine.

 **Fen:** Hmmmm… maybe we could use a few of your recipes for this story. If you don't mind.

 **AQ:** No, only two people have that honor… my King… and Beatrix!

 **Fen:** Doh…

 **AQ** : I made and created these dishes through blood, sweat and tears! Only family can have it and since King and I are lovers… kya he's the exception.

 **Fen:** It would have been nice though…

 **AQ:** Fine, fine, just a few…

 **Fen:** WOHOO! Alright let's start!

Disclaimer: We do not own Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma. All creative and production rights belong to Yūto Tsukuda, Shueisha, Michiko Itō, Yoshitomo Yonetani, Shogo Yasukawa, Tatsuya Kato, J. C. Staff, and Sentai Filmworks.

* * *

 **Flashback - 10 years ago**

 _"Mazui!" a five-year old girl pouted as she pushed away a plate of food after trying it._

 _"Ehhhhhhhh?!" A boy that was a year older than her gawked. "It's not good?!"_

 _"The taste is horrible, the flavor is completely off, and it's not worth eating!" The girl pouted._

 _"Seriously, Na-chan?" The boy sighed in defeat. "Mou, I worked hard on that too."_

 _"…Sorry Ku-kun, I can't help it." The girl apologized with sincerity._

 _"Oh well, the only thing I have left is this simple slice of cake." The boy sighed presenting the said slice. It was your average sponge cake topped with vanilla icing with a few coconut shavings sprinkled on top for garnish. "Then again, you're just gonna push it away as usual." He pouted._

 _"At least you're getting better with my knowledge!" The girl pouted back with a more upset look._

 _"Just try it…"_

 _"Haaa… fine." The girl flicked her hair as she grabbed a fork. Taking it, she slowly used the edge of the silverware to cut herself a small triangle piece. "Itadakimasu…" She mumbled before placing the fork in her mouth to taste the cake. "Mmmmmmmmph!" Her eyes widened._

 _"W-What is it?" The boy slightly panicked as she saw the fork drop out of her mouth._

'This flavor… It's so light… It's like I'm floating in the clouds…' _the girl thought as she imagined herself floating through those said clouds, feeling the nice gentle breeze flying past her hair as she flew like a bird, soaring high in the sky._ 'The simple vanilla flavor just sings with mellow sweetness that it calms my soul, almost like being hugged by an angel… like I feel safe and loved…'

 _"It's good…" the girl got out._

 _"Eh?" the boy blinked._

 _"It's good." the girl repeated. "Overall, there are slight problems with the look and presentation. But I love it, and it has no fault in its taste! I-Is there more?!" The girl asked with a big smile._

 _The boy smiled widely with his eyes shining bright. "Unn! Have as much as you want!"_

* * *

 **The next day…**

 _"LET ME IN! I want to see her!" The boy begged. "Why can't I see her?!"_

 _A man wearing a dark black suit was in front of him. Even though he had a friendly smile… Kurogasa can see nothing but a terrifying monster._

 _He had slick black hair with a streak of white hair swept into the back. He was pale-skinned with black eyes and had a notably grim looking face despite him smiling and his outfit is predominantly black, consisting of a trench coat, vest, undershirt, leather gloves, slacks, and shoes. His tie is silver in color._

 _"My daughter has no need for the likes of you, anymore. Please never come back here again." The man patted the young boy's head._

 _"LIAR! She liked my cake! Why are you kicking me out because she tasted a cake that I made and she liked?!" the boy snapped, tears streaming down his eyes._

 _"…Because she's my way of creating the perfect world of culinary progress. You will_ never _understand the ability she has. I don't want her to be soiled by your horrible food."_

 _ ***POW!***_

 _"GAH!" the boy cried out as the girl's father kicked him away in the gut making him roll to the ground before he stopped._

 _"Now run along, boy. The next time you come here, I will use permanent measures. The reason you're alive now is because I am slightly pleased to see my daughter happy." The man chuckled darkly before he closed the door. The boy then managed to get up and ran to get to the door but it was all for naught as it was locked._

 _"NA-CHAN! NA-CHAN!" the boy cried as he banged on the door while the clouds darkened the sky and rain fell. "Let me in! I want to see Na-chan! Let me see her!" He yelled, but it was no use._

 _"NA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"!" The boy gasped as his eyes widened before he jolted upright sitting on his bed. His heart was beating rapidly like someone was flattening it with a hammer, he was panting heavily like he had tasted the spiciest food known to man, ice cold sweat fell from his face like an ice cube melting, and he was overcome with exhaustion like he had went through a rush hour of cooking.

"That dream again…" He muttered as he wiped his sweat before looking out the window, seeing that the sun was rising. "Looks like I'll never find her. I just hope she's alright…" The boy muttered as he laid back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling with an arm over his forehead. He then took out a thin-chained necklace that had a black 'V' when it actuality was half of a 'W'. The other half was a green 'V'. "Na-chan…"

* * *

 **Flashback - 10 years ago**

 _"Here!" The boy grinned as he showed her the full 'W' necklace that was half black and half green._

 _"For me?" The girl asked._

 _"Well, half of it actually," He said before he broke the W in half and giving the green half to her._

 _"Why did you do that?" She asked, pouting._

 _"Why not? It shows that we are partners for life!"_

 _"Partners?" She asked._

 _"Yep! If and when we ever move away, we can always remember each other with this!" He smiled widely._

 _"Really?"_

 _"Uh-huh, just like Shotaro and Phillip!"_

 _"…" The girl remained silent thinking about it, before she took the green half. "Okay, but promise me that if we do, we find each other, no matter how long it takes."_

 _"Ah, yakusoku!" He smiled again._

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"Yakusoku da…" The teenaged boy muttered as he looked at his half of the necklace. "Can I really keep my promise to find her…?" He wondered to himself before he shook his head. "No… I can't think like that. I _have_ to find her… no matter how long it takes."

"Kurogasa, are you up?" a woman's voice asked. "Your Shishou is here!"

"Ha~i! I'll be there, Kaa-san!" the boy now known as Kurogasa called back.

As mentioned before, his name is Kurogasa Kururugi, an aspiring young Japanese chef who dreams to one day own a restaurant in Kyoto where his family lives, a refined city on the island of Honshu with thousands of classical temples, as well as gardens, imperial palaces, shrines and traditional wooden houses. It's also known for formal traditions such as kaiseki dining, consisting of multiple courses of precise dishes.

He was sixteen years old with medium-length brown hair whose fringe was swept to the right and his icy blue eyes. He got off his bed, as he was wearing nothing but his black boxers and a white t-shirt. But for him, today was a big day. He was going to partake in a final test of sorts, prepared by his Shishou, who was a renowned chef known throughout the world.

He remembered when he first met his Shishou. It was on the day he was kicked out by that man, that he met him.

* * *

 **Flashback - 10 years ago**

 _Kurogasa was crying as he was walking home alone while in the rain, saddened that he can't see his childhood friend ever again. That is until he accidentally bumped into someone._

 _"You should watch where you're going, shounen." A young adult said in a stoic tone while holding a metal bowl which had a block of tofu soaked in water while holding his umbrella._

 _"G-Gomen…" Kurogasa sobbed, wiping his tears._

 _"Why are you crying, shounen?"_

 _"N-Na-chan… I can't see her forever…" Kurogasa got out. "Her dad kicked me out… all because of a cake I made that she liked…"_

 _The young adult looked at the boy for a while before he said, "…Come with me." as he looked at the boy with pity in his eyes._

 _"H-Huh?" Kurogasa asked as he looked at the man. "Where?"_

 _"I'm going to teach you how to walk the path of Heaven."_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

Since then, Kurogasa had been training for years, honing his skills as a chef, learning the various techniques and life lessons that his Shishou had taught him, and now it was going to pay off in this final test.

"Yosha! Let's do this!"

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix. **  
(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy. **  
(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them. **  
(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background. **  
(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot. **  
(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures. **  
(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 1:** Golden Fried Rice with Fried Ribeye Steak Strips dipped in Shiitake Mushroom Sauce

Kurogasa soon came down the stairs into the kitchen and the first thing he noticed was his mother, Yukina Kururugi. She was a young beautiful woman in her late 30's and has long flowing pink hair with grey eyes. At first glance, one would think that she was Lacus Clyne, and sometimes her friends would tease her about it, but she doesn't mind. As for his father, Kyoshiro, he was a renowned cookbook author and is traveling all over Japan, promoting a cookbook that he had recently finished, going to many book signings. Sitting at the table was his Shishou. He was a young man himself being in his early 30's and has shaggy black hair while wearing a black shirt with a white jacket over it while wearing denim blue jeans and black shoes.

"Ohayo Kaa-san! Shishou!" Kurogasa greeted with a smile.

"Ohayo, Kurogasa." Yukina said as Kurogasa's shishou nodded his head to acknowledge him.

"Are you prepared for today's last test?" Shishou said to the brown haired teen.

"Hai, Shishou!" Kurogasa said as he looked at the man with a determined look.

"Good… please make me… Miso soup with lightly grilled salmon." Shishou said as he smiled.

"Hai!"

* * *

The ingredients used for the miso soup will be deboned Alaskan salmon steaks, fresh with some basil, salt, pepper, and some lemons.

The boy first laid the fish onto a plate as he took pinches of the salt, pepper, and chopped basil gently rubbing it as it he made sure that the fish had enough on both sides. First grabbing a pan and setting the heat on the stove high while adding vegetable oil to the slowly heating pan.

Counting down the seconds to the pan's desire heat, Kurogasa grated the lemons for their zest also rubbing them into one side of the fish. Then returning to the pan and slightly lowering the heat down, as he slowly put the salmon steak into the hot oil which crackled insanely as it cooked the fish. After six minutes, he quickly flipped it to the other side as he turn around to grab a pot with hot water and set it on the stove.

"Ara… it smells good." Yukina sniffed.

"He has come a long way." Shishou nodded.

Kurogasa smiled at the praise but quickly resumed his work adding miso to the water, lowered the heat to a simmer, then whisked it quickly allow the flavor to fully dissolve in it as he then turned off the heat for his pan. Quickly setting the fish to a wood chopping block to rest, he pulled the skin of the salmon steak slowly and carefully. As he now had long piece of skin, he put it into an empty bowl adding some lemon juice, salt, some green onions, and the rest of the basil to the stock. He also turned off the heat for the pot as he strained the physical objects into three bowls.

"Bon appétit…" Kurogasa said now adding some rice to the salmon on the side.

"Well done." Shishou said. "Now for the taste test. Yukina-san, would you like to try as well?"

"Of course." Yukina smiled.

Shishou and Yukina each took their portion and picked up their chopsticks to pick up a piece. "The salmon is tender enough for my chopsticks to cut. And it has the perfect flake to pull apart with ease, almost like butter." Yukina commented.

"The heat of the miso soup… the steam is soothing enough to clear the sinuses." Shishou added. "A warm soothing feeling on a cold winter's day. And the smell of lemon sends a nice sense of a sharp flavor profile…" He then took a piece of the salmon and dipped it into the soup. "The salmon is cooked to perfection, the flavor and seasons are all connected, and put a great sense of harmony in it."

"Indeed and by themselves they stand out well but together heightens the flavors to new heights!" Yukina said.

They then took a bite of their food and their eyes widened.

"Ko-re wa…" Shishou got out.

"Ara…" Yukina added. "This flavor…" She began as she was imagining. "It's like walking through a lemon garden near the sea, feeling the smell of the sharp yet sweet lemon. And the freshness of the sea and wind are gusting past me."

 ***Slurp!***

"Hmm… I can agree. And the broth has the perfect mixture of flavor and salt, creating the perfect tone and great complement for the salmon." Shishou said after finishing the bowl of soup and cooked fish. "You pass."

"YATTA!" The boy smiled widely before jumping up in the air, "Arigatou, Shishou!"

"You had the skills, I just refined and sharpened them." Shishou said and after the two finished eating, he took the empty plates and washed them.

"Ara, congratulations, Kurogasa. I'm so proud of you." Yukina smiled as she hugged her son which he returned.

"Arigatou, Kaa-san!" Kurogasa smiled back before he broke the hug.

"Though… perhaps you could hone them more."

"Eh? What do you mean, Shishou?" The boy asked curiously turning to him.

"Unlike you, I have other responsibilities so I can't focus on studies." The teacher said before looking at younger male. "But you could probably reach a higher level than my cooking, that is if you're interested."

"Hontou desu ka?" the boy asked. "But… I don't know if I could _ever_ beat _you_. You're a master." He added sheepishly.

However the man raised his index to the ceiling, "Obaachan ga iteita: People become stronger through adventures."

"How so?"

"If you do this, you can become much better in your cooking skills. You will meet many others who will be just as good, if not better. You must strive to always be at your best. It can become an adventure for you."

"Ehehe, well if you put it that way Shishou… then alright, I'm game!" the boy grinned, throwing his fist into an open palm. "If you have that much faith in my talent, then let's go all out!"

"I'm glad to hear that." the teacher nodded with a light smile. "But always remember this: It is enjoyable to eat something delicious, but the greatest joy comes from the time spent waiting for it."

"Right… you mean that because it's fun. The real enjoyment is to experience it."

"Remember this too: Truly delicious food will change the life of the one who eats it. Cooking spreads to another and the flavor connects one person to another."

"Hai." the boy nodded.

"Whenever you cook, always show honesty and humility into every dish." Shishou said. "No matter what happens, strive to be better each time. After all, men must be cool. Boiling water turns into vapor."

"Right. I will always take your teachings into heart shishou!" the boy nodded excitedly. "So where am I going to hone more of my skills?"

"Tōtsuki Culinary Academy." Shishou said.

…

…

…

…

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Kurogasa gawked in complete shock.

* * *

A week later…

Tokyo, Japan.

Japan's bustling capital, mixing the ultramodern and the traditional, from neon-lit skyscrapers and anime shops to cherry trees and temples. The opulent Meiji Shinto Shrine is known for its towering gate and surrounding forests. The Imperial Palace sits amid sprawling public gardens. The city is famed for its vibrant food scene, and its Shibuya and Harajuku districts are the heart of its trendy teen fashion scene.

However, there was one location that was esteemed as the best in the eyes of the chefs from around Japan and the entire world. And it is where this young man is going to.

"Are we there yet?" Kurogasa asked as he rode in a taxi.

"Not yet." The driver responded. "We'll get there, don't you worry."

"Thanks." Kurogasa said as he looked out the window. "I hope Shishou is fine back home." The boy wondered, fixing his hair. For his attire he wore his old school uniform since he was going to be a transfer student to the school he was going to go to.

Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, to say its the best school for chefs in all of Japan is a crime. In fact many believe that this school is the ultimate place to create the best of the best chefs. Nearly a huge percentage of the students will be cut off in the first year and even fewer when Graduation arrives. However, no one actually knows much, aside from those basic facts. He remembered what his Shishou had told him.

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"Tell me this is a really bad joke, Shishou!" Kurogasa exclaimed._

 _"It's not, if you want to increase your skills as a chef." The teacher said before sipping a cup of tea._

 _"Still…" Kurogasa got out. He heard rumors about the school. Tōtsuki Culinary Academy as mentioned before is an illustrious cooking academy that is well known in the culinary industry. Due to the caliber and notoriety of the school, nearly all aspiring chefs must attend the school in order to become high class chefs. Parents have been known to beg officials to accept their children, even offering their life savings to have their child attend, though all offers are turned down. Students are only accepted after passing an entrance exam, requiring them to prepare a dish under a specific theme and pass the exam proctors' judgment. If they show acceptable merit in their school work in the middle school section, they will move on to the high school section. As a privately owned academy, the school board may expel students if their work does not meet their expectations, though it is uncommon for a student to be expelled in middle school._

 _"I wish I could send him there, but I don't have the money." Yukina said worried._

 _"Don't worry, if he gets in by passing the transfer exam, using my association as his teacher, he can go there for free."_

 _"Are you sure?" Kurogasa asked._

 _"Of course. The Director of the Academy is a good friend of mine. I can put in a good word for you, since I attended the school myself."_

 _"EHHHHHHHHH?! You attended Tōtsuki Culinary Academy?!" Kurogasa exclaimed surprised._

 _"Oh my…" Yukina blinked._

 _"I have. 75th Generation and Number 1 in the Elite Ten Council."_

 _"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Kurogasa gawked again._

 _He heard about that too._

 _The Elite Ten is an illustrious group of students in Tōtsuki comprised of the ten best students in the entire academy. The organization is responsible for handling the academy's internal evaluations, including judging the achievements based on the student presentations in the academy grounds as well as helping organize events such as the Tōtsuki Autumn Election. Because of their status in the academy, they have certain freedoms when carrying out personal projects. They are also given a large budget by Tōtsuki Culinary Academy for them to utilize in any conceivable reason as long as the purchases are related to cooking and food research. Their authority in the academy is second only to the director._

 _That being said, even the lecturers have less authority than they do and must obey anything they say. However, their power in the Academy is much more powerful, enough so that they can formally request a new director of the campus if the majority of the council votes in favor and overrule the director's wishes himself. For many, the 1st seat is the highest honor possible in the academy and most successful chefs in the culinary world have been a 1st seat._

 _"Oh boy…" Kurogasa sweated._

 _"Relax, you'll do fine." Shishou assured. "And who knows, maybe you'll find that girl."_

 _Kurogasa looked down in thought. It was true too. There was a good chance that_ she _could be there as well thanks to that tongue of hers, that can taste even a molecule of a dish. "I suppose you're right."_

 _"Even if you can't find her, you can still make that person eat crow for taking her away from you." The talented chef added._

 _"Yeah…" Kurogasa muttered._

 _"Obaachan ga iteita: Even in a world full of enemies, there will always be someone you must protect." He quoted. "If and when you find her, protect her with your life."_

 _"Hai." Kurogasa nodded firmly._

 _"Kurogasa, are you sure you can do this?" Yukina asked._

 _"I can Kaa-san. If she's there, I will make sure to stay with her this time." Kurogasa assured. "I swear it."_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"I just hope I know what I'm getting myself into…" Kurogasa sighed to himself.

"Oi, we're here!" The man said with a wide grin.

"Ohh thanks, how much-"

"Eh, the ride's free to get here." The man waved off.

"What? Not that I mind, but why?"

"Well a lot of kids fail at these things, and I feel bad making them pay for two rides, so the ones coming here are free." The man explained.

"Really? That hard?" Kurogasa tilted his head.

"Yeah, supposedly they have a tough proctor to judge them. I heard those who heard, already told them they weren't coming."

"That bad, huh?" Kurogasa got out.

"Yeah. I'll be waiting if you fail." He waved off. "Good luck still gaki!"

"Heh, like that's gonna happen any time soon." Kurogasa grinned as he got out the taxi and raised a finger in the air. "Shishou ga iteita: He who walks the path of Heaven will rule over everything."

"He who… what?"

* * *

When he stood at the door of the said academy, with his duffel bag of clothes and other things next to him, he was amazed at the sight. The school itself didn't fit in the traditional sense of Kyoto sense it was large and had many western-styled building, being covered in shiny white stone. But the really impressive thing was that it was on a large hill-like mountain with buildings appearing often in Kurogasa's eyes and it wasn't all in just one mountain. The ones near it also had buildings around them as well, and it led up to a huge pagoda-like structure at the top.

"Whew… that's impressive." Kurogasa whistled. "Well, nothing like the present." He added before picking up his duffel bag, going over to the door, and opening it before taking the long path upwards.

After a while of walking, he managed to arrive at the place where supposedly the transfer students were to meet. It was a large building similar to the style of a large church… without the holy building itself. The young chef noticed that the only people here weren't wearing the school uniforms making him smile that he arrived at the correct place.

"Excuse me." Kurogasa asked a fancy dressed teen passing him. "Do you know where I can find where all the transfer students meet?"

However the person passed him with a sneer, "Go back to the sticks, punk."

"Uh…" Kurogasa got out, dumbfounded. "I was just… asking. Uh, excuse me, sorry but-"

Once again the person he tried to asked brushed him off with another dark look, "Don't waste my time peasant."

"Ah… Oh boy…" Kurogasa sweat dropped. "This might be a lot harder than I thought." He then took out his cell phone and dialed a number. After a few seconds…

[ _"Hello?"_ ]

"Hey Shishou, it's me. I'm at the place, well at least I _think_ I am." Kurogasa said uncertain. "I'm trying to ask where the transfers meet, but they're being rude."

[ _"…I see. I forgot to tell you,"_ ]

"Eh?"

[ _"Many of the would-be students are from high-class world companies and restaurants, compared to you and me. Meaning…"_ ]

"They think they're better than people." Kurogasa finished with a deadpan look. "Figures… are you really sure I can do this, Shishou?"

[ _"Believe in what I say. Most of these would-be chefs never truly held their own in the kitchen unlike you. To them, you're the veteran soldier in this squad."_ ]

"Sokka. Well, I guess I better school them in their own kitchen." Kurogasa chuckled. "After all, fancy flavors cannot hide poor cooking."

[ _"Mm. Good answer. I'll talk to you later. Tell me how everything went when your examinations are done, okay?"_ ]

"Right!" Kurogasa said before the line cut off. He then turned around to look for someone to help and-

"Ouch, watch where ya goin' partner!" A male voice spoke in English as Kurogasa saw a teen like him fall on the ground.

"Eh? Who's that?" A girl with teal-colored hair asked a bit airly also speaking in English.

"Ugh, sorry- Ah… so sorry?" The boy said scratching the back of his head. Kurogasa looked and saw the boy he bumped into. He wore a white shirt that had a brown vest over it. His hair was short and black but combed down finely. He wore white chef pants, that were a bit larger than most should wear. And oddly enough, he had a white fedora hat that had a black slash over it. "Sorry, Japanese is not me first language."

"That's 'my' Kishi. You're not Irish." The girl responded once more without any tenseness or any ill emotion in her tone.

"R-Right," The boy now named Kishi blushed.

"Uh… can I help you?" Kurogasa asked in English.

"You speak English?! Sweet, uh, do you need help looking for the exam room?" The boy tipped his hat as he spoke.

"Yeah. That would be great, actually." Kurogasa answered sheepishly. "I've tried to ask the other students here and they just shrugged me off like I'm some kind of parasite."

"Tch, lousy punks!" Kishi spat on the ground. "Food doesn't have money so why are we being treated like we have infections? They also treated Beatrix and I like that… although Beatrix… uh, educated some of them." The boy paled taking off his hat. "May God have mercy on their souls."

"Her?" Kurogasa pointed to the girl who was following a butterfly.

Kishi shivered, "She acts all cute and ditzy but push her too far… ugh, I can't even tell you what she will do."

"I'll… take your word for it." Kurogasa sweat dropped. "Oh right. I'm Kurogasa Kururugi. Nice to meet you."

"Kishi, Kishi 'Nero' Shiki!" The boy said giving his hand to Kurogasa to shake which the latter returned, "My style is Drunken!"

"What?"

"He uses booze in food." The girl appeared behind Kurogasa eating cotton candy, freaking him out a bit. "Beatrix… Altair…" The girl said to Kurogasa. "I cook… pastries. What's your style?"

"Me? Well… I specialize in Rice."

"Rice?" Beatrix asked.

"Yep."

"Seriously, you mastered every kind of rice?" Nero raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, if I sound like those uptight high class fools, but it seems unlikely."

"Ehehe… well, I wouldn't exactly call myself a master at them. I just… do the best that I can." Kurogasa replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Beatrix smirked at him, "Ohh… I like him."

"Easy there, girl. He isn't an easy target for you to prey on and break his heart." Shiki warned the young girl.

"I'm sorry?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

"Ohh uh, Beatrix and I have been together since we're kids. She has a problem seducing girls and boys and then breaking up with them." Nero said with a disappointed look.

"Oh…"

…

…

…

…

"Wait, what?! Beatrix is-"

"Fufufufufu, don't worry. You can have a taste of me before I break up with you." The girl smiled coyly, leaning in with a wink, making Kurogasa sweat.

"Ugh, just ignore her. If you can go for a week through her sexual harassment, she'll be a good friend." The hat wearer said as he grabbed Beatrix over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. "C'mon, Bebe."

"Hey! Let me go! Put me down!" Beatrix shouted, throwing a tantrum.

"Nuh-uh. No way." Kishi denied. "You can seduce Kurogasa-san all you want after we pass the test."

"Huh… odd, but not rude." Kurogasa blinked.

"KUROGASA?!"

The mentioned boy turned to see a young teenage boy with yellow eyes and a vertical scar on his left eyebrow. He had spiky dark-red hair with short bangs wearing a black coat summer school uniform over his Yukihira cooking uniform. "SOMA!?" The brown haired boy yelled back and smiled. They walked to each other before giving a brotherly hug. "Good to see you again!" He laughed as Soma and him broke the hug.

"Yeah I haven't seen you in a while." Soma said. "You'd usually come into the diner every week with that weird guy that says those weird quotes so we can have our bouts, but that hasn't been frequent lately,"

"Oi, don't mock Shishou. I take his lessons to heart thank you very much." Kurogasa huffed. "Anyways, what the heck are you doing here?"

"My old man, _that's_ what." Soma sighed.

"Your dad? He forced you to come here?" Kurogasa asked a bit incredulous.

"Well, not exactly."

"Huh?" Kurogasa tilted his head. "You lost me. What are you talking about?"

"Dad is closing up shop in a few years, so if I want to succeed him and keep the store, I have to earn my way here. But man, who knew they were so many jerks around?" The red haired teen gave a humorous look.

"Yeah I noticed. Some of them wouldn't even give me the time of day and those who did just yelled at me." The brown haired teen replied.

"Ha, I already noticed most of these guys never served food before." Soma chuckled.

"Yeah. Now come on, let's go pass this thing!"

* * *

"There are you guys are." Shiki said as he was in the back with Beatrix now released from his grasp as they were now in an elaborate empty dining hall with ingredients lining up the wall as the two friends arrived, seeing many other transfer applicants, hoping to get into the Academy.

"Hey guys." Kurogasa greeted, with Soma behind him.

"Who's he?" Beatrix pointed at the redhead. "He looks like he's from the slums."

"This is Soma Yukihira. A good friend of mine." Kurogasa chuckled. "He may look like a bum, but he's a great cook. Trust me, I know, since he and I would always butt heads in a cooking competition."

"Hmm, I can't wait to see his skills." Shiki grinned. "I wonder who the examiner is."

"Oh… I think that's her." Beatrix pointed to the front with a chocolate bar.

The examiner in question was a girl that was fifteen years old. She has pink eyes and long honey blonde hair that flowed just above her lower back. Her bangs partially crossed her cheeks and go down all the way to her neck. She has a large bust and is considered by most of the students to be extremely attractive. She wore her Tōtsuki uniform corresponds with the current season which in this case was her spring uniform.

"Whoa, she's… pretty." Kurogasa blinked, blushing a bit.

"Amen!" Shiki chuckled.

"The things I would do to her…" Beatrix with the three boys looking at her oddly, "What? So I'm a perv. Deal with it."

"Greetings, transfer applicants." the honey blonde haired girl announced. "I am Erina Nakiri, and I have been assigned to judge today's transfer exam."

"Erina?" Kurogasa got out. _'Why… does that name sound familiar?'_

"Any word from the exam division, Hisako?" Erina asked her secretary. Her secretary was the same age as her. She had short pink hair with bangs that reach to the length of her chin and she has a normal fringe reaching the length of the eyebrows and she wears the Tōtsuki seasonal uniform.

"I'll read it now." Hisako nodded as she read from a clipboard. "Examinees will first undergo interviews in groups of ten based on their application. They will then undergo a practicum where they will cook three dishes or more. Those who pass will…"

"Hmph… how pointless." Erina scoffed, making Hisako look at her.

 _'Okay, I'm seeing a couple of red flags here and there.'_ Kurogasa thought with a frown. _'But I'm not gonna back down now. Shishou is counting on me.'_

"Hmmm… I have an idea." Erina smirked as she looked towards the ingredient table and picked out one ingredient. "The Main ingredient will be the egg. Make one dish. I'll only allow those whose creations impress my palate. Furthermore, I will allow those who wish to withdraw and cancel their application to do so within the next minute only." The girl said with a cool smile on her face.

"Yeesh… arrogant much…?" Shiki muttered.

"RUN!"

"Wha- OW MY LEGS!" Shiki yelled when most of the other students began to run to the entrance.

"What the heck just happened?!" Kurogasa asked, moving to the side as Soma grabbed one guy.

"You don't know who that is?!"

"Nope, tell me." Soma said with a happy smile.

"That's Erina Nakiri! She has the finest palate known to mankind! A divine tongue!" The teen said in fear. "They call it God's Tongue."

"Ooh…" Beatrix giggled perversely.

"That's why we're leaving! She's basically the gatekeeper of the cooking world! If we fail here, that means there's no way that we can get back up from making her angry! If your food is deemed unworthy, you career as a chef is over!" The boy wailed before finally running away.

"And he's out. Just like that." Soma said with a lazy deadpan look on his face.

"Once again, I cleared up my schedule. I knew most of those guys were hopeless incompetents. I can't be bothered to waste my time on such fools." The honey-blonde said with a smirk, before looking at the pink-haired girl. "I'm going to test new dishes in my private quarters."

"H-Hai, Erina-sama." Hisako nodded.

"What's the matter, Hisako?" the girl walked towards her and continued to speak. "You look like you want something."

"What the-" Kurogasa started when suddenly Erina gently cupped Hisako's chin.

"Would you like the privilege of trying my cooking?" Erina asked a bit seductively.

"I… would…" Hisako got out.

"Does… anyone else not notice the roses around them or the pink background?" Kurogasa wondered.

"See what?" Soma asked, as if not noticing the intense moment. Shiki was still knocked out with comical footprints on his body.

"Hehehehehehe…" Beatrix drooled at the sight with hearts in her eyes. "I wonder if I can join in on the fun…"

"O-Oi, oi, oi…" Kurogasa sweat dropped. "I know you have your preferences, but please keep it to yourself…"

"So," Soma loudly said causing Erina and Hisako to cringe, now realizing they weren't alone. "There's no other restrictions besides the theme we have to use?"

"Oi, what are you-" Kurogasa got out as Erina's and Hisako's head turned to the remaining four people.

"Why are you four still here?" Erina demanded.

"Uh… we're here for the transfer exam." Kurogasa blinked surprised. "Isn't it?"

"Nani?" Erina asked surprised. "Don't you all know who I am?"

"Yeah, the girl who has big expectations, right?" Soma simply answered.

"Why you-!"

"Oi, Soma, don't antagonize her…" Kurogasa hissed before looking at Erina. "L-Look, we just only want to try."

Erina was about to say something before looking at the boy oddly. There was something about him that seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. However, she had no time for such trivial matters, so she shrugged it off. "Fine…"

"Erina-sama!"

"It's fine Hisako…" Erina waved off, "Come with me to the kitchen."

"Sure, we-" Soma began.

"Not you. Him." Erina cut off, pointing to Kurogasa.

"Just me?" Kurogasa blinked.

"I'll take you one at a time." Erina ordered, making Kurogasa oddly enough… smile.

"Hai," Kurogasa said as if taking a page from Soma.

"D-Don't act like this isn't a big deal!" Erina frowned cutely at the boy's reaction.

"It _is_ a big deal. I mean how _else_ am I gonna be a good chef if I don't pass the transfer exam?" Kurogasa asked confused.

Erina looked at the somewhat ditzy boy, confused with a sweat drop before she pouted. "Fine… follow me."

* * *

Soon Kurogasa followed Erina and Hisako down the hallway which the three entered a large kitchen filled with the basic essentials for high-classed chefs. "Whew… sugei na… I guess that's expected of the Academy." Kurogasa whistled impressed as he looked around. The kitchen was lined with the latest cooking equipment and tools that were up-to-date, the cabinets were filled with all kinds of spices and condiments along with non-perishables, and the refrigerator, pantry, and tables were filled with the finest and freshest ingredients.

"This room is for the entrance exams. Any chef worth his salt can use these tools here." Hisako explained. "Are you ready to start cooking?"

"Hai!" Kurogasa grinned with confidence. The boy then immediately went to pull out the cooking tools and ingredients he would need. "So what's the theme again?"

"You have to use egg in your dish." Erina reminded the boy.

"Got it." Kurogasa nodded with a confident smile as he went of work.

The ingredients for the dish he was going to use were rice, green onions, eggs, salt, pepper, slices of ribeye steak, flour, olive oil, shitake mushrooms, a garlic clove, a small bottle of brandy, double cream, and wholegrain mustard.

First, he setted up a pot and poured oil in it before firing up the stove. He then used a measuring cup to scoop out three cups of rice and put it in a rice cooker bowl, cleaning the rice to get rid of any dirt, before draining the water, adding water again, and putting it in the rice cooker itself before he went to prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Next, he chopped the green onions into fine pieces with his knives at a fast rate before placing them in a small bowl, before cracking open two eggs and stirring the liquid in a bowl, adding a pinch of salt and pepper for flavor.

Kurogasa grabbed the olive oil as he then poured one tablespoon of it into a saucepan over high heat and added six Shiitake mushrooms that were sliced, moving them gently. For a few minutes he continued to do it and his eyes soon caught the mushrooms getting a crispy look to them.

 ***BANG!***

He then quickly smashed in a garlic clove with his rolling pin and put it all in the pan as the oil crackled with the smell of the two ingredients. The boy opened the brandy and put two tablespoons of it into the pan watching it as it exploded into flames. "…" He didn't care as it slowly vanished, leaving the garlic and shiitake with a nice char and odor. He took a step back as he then grabbed the double cream and wholegrain mustard. After getting four tablespoons of the said cream and two tablespoons of the mustard he quickly mixed them by using a whisk. "Almost there…"

"This aroma… what is this…?" Erina got out as the steam of the ingredients reached her nose causing her to sniff and gulp. "That garlic and brandy are making an almost… earthy aroma, flooding this room."

Kurogasa grabbed a spoon as he then placed the mixture of the creamy mustard into the hot pan slowly using a spatula to fold in the garlic and shiitake mushrooms. After nodding to himself he lowered the heat as the liquid contents in the pan were now at a simmer.

He went back to check on the rice to see if it was cooked. When he saw that it was ready, he went to work on the ribeye steak strips which he cut into thin slices. After doing so, he dipped them in egg and coated them in flour before deep frying them in hot oil. While the ribeye steak strips were deep frying, he started on the rice.

He placed the rice in a wok before adding an egg. That was when he used the spatula to coat the rice with the egg liquid, making sure to coat every grain. He needed to be careful. The beauty of golden fried rice was in the presentation as each grain needed to be equally coated. He then added the green onions and once it was ready he put the rice onto a plate.

During the five minutes he was doing that, he saw that the fried ribeye steak strips were golden brown while the sauce was already heating up. When he saw it was ready, he put the fried ribeye steak slices into the sauce and left them to simmer. Finally, after the meat had finished simmering in the sauce, he picked them up and placed them on the golden fried rice, arranging the slices to look like petals of a flower.

"There we go. All done." Kurogasa smiled, satisfied with his work. "Phew… hopefully this will impress."

"This is-" Erina said as she felt weak in the knees from the smell of the food.

"Golden Fried Rice with Fried Ribeye Steak Strips dipped in Shiitake Mushroom sauce!" Kurogasa presented.

"Shiitake? Wouldn't other mushrooms like oyster or chestnut be enough?" Hisako asked, "Why use Shiitake?"

"Shiitake Mushrooms are usually used for soups and dried veggies, right? Well it turns out that one time when I was experimenting using a dried-up Shiitake mushroom, it had more flavor than a regular one during the process. So that means the overall flavor will be more packed. That, going with the steak strips, will give it a delicious earth taste that most people are fond of like potatoes and such. And with this being a creamy sauce, it doesn't stand out, rather, it brings the flavor of the steak strips well and takes away a bit from the oily-ness of them." Kurogasa explained as Hisako nodded.

"I see. Usually Shiitake are used for medicinal types of food with its healthy benefits, one of which is breaking down fat… I have to admit that it was a good choice for this dish. But what you did, was take advantage of the flavor and profile, to enhance a sauce." Hisako smiled from understanding, before looking at Erina. "Erina-sama, may I also take a bite of this dish?"

"That's why there're two plates here." Kurogasa smiled, before raising a finger in the air. "Shishou ga iteita: Truly delicious food will change the life of the one who eats it. Cooking spreads to another and the flavor connects one person to another."

"T-Thank you." Hisako said with a surprised look.

"Shishou also said this: If you receive a little kindness, give them a large serving." Kurogasa added and he made the second plate for Hisako. "Since you gave me the small kindness of giving me the opportunity to cook for you two, I can reward you with a large serving of this dish."

"Don't think that's going to affect my decision." Erina said with a stoic tone.

"Good, I don't want any pity." Kurogasa chuckled.

"…" Erina and Hisako looked at the dish and slowly took their first bite. Their eyes widened as they felt the food's flavor.

 _'The texture of the rice… it's so fluffy. And the egg coating made it look like beads of gold. The steak strips are still crispy, tender, and juicy even though it was left to boil in the sauce,'_ Erina thought.

 _'What is this? The flavor of the steak strips… they haven't been compromised or overpowered by the sauce. They mix so well, complementing each other.'_ Hisako thought as well.

"So… how is it?" Kurogasa asked nervously.

 _'How can this be… I haven't tasted something good like this since…'_ Erina thought… as she felt a deep pang in her heart. _'Why… Why do I feel so hurt?'_

"This is delicious," Hisako said before giving a sad look. "But sadly it's not up to me."

…

…

…

…

 ***Drip, Drip, Drip***

"Erina-sama?" Hisako said before she gasped, seeing Erina… crying?

"H-Hey, are you okay?" Kurogasa asked concerned.

Erina was standing there as her hair covered her eyes and her body slightly trembled before she placed the plate down on the table. "You pass… please go."

"Uh-"

"Just leave…" Erina said once more but still calm.

"But-"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Kurogasa said surprised before he hurriedly ran off.

"Erina-sama," Hisako said worriedly. "What's wrong? Was the food that bad?"

"No… I was just reminded of… happier times…" Erina said softly before wiping her tears and shaking her head. "Get the other three in here, I'll judge them together. I don't want to waste any more time."

"Are you sure? I could-"

"I said, get them in here!"

"H-Hai!"

* * *

As Kurogasa was getting out of the kitchen and walking back towards the dining hall, Kurogasa had this look of confusion and concern on his face. _'What just happened? I thought she would be impressed by the dish I made, but I made her cry. And I didn't handle the food so crudely like Shishou had taught me. Man, this is very confusing…'_

"Hey, Kurogasa! You're back! How did it go?" Soma grinned as Kurogasa met up with Soma, Shiki, and Beatrix.

"Huh? What's wrong, man?" Shiki asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I… passed."

"Congratulations." Beatrix nodded.

"Yeah, that's great!" Soma grinned. "If you passed, then that means we got this in the bag!"

"Y-Yeah…" Kurogasa said sheepishly before looking away worried. "Uh, I-I'll be right back." He said, before quickly leaving the room. Once he was an earshot away, he dialed up his Shishou. "Hey Shishou, it's me again."

[ _"How did it go?"_ ] Shishou asked.

"I passed the transfer exam, but…"

[ _"But?"_ ] Shishou prompted.

"The examiner… Her name is Erina Nakiri. I made her cry from the dish I made." Kurogasa said worriedly. "I don't get it… why would she cry when I passed? I didn't handle the food so crudely like you always taught me, and yet I made a girl cry. That doesn't make any sense."

[ _"Kurogasa… she wouldn't have passed you, if it was terrible. Perhaps the food plucked a heartstring."_ ]

"What do you mean?"

[ _"Look, if you still feel ill about this, give her flowers. Obaachan ga iteita: Flowers can make any girl glow."_ ]

"Flowers… alright. I'll do it!" He nodded before running off to find flowers.

[ _"I didn't mean right now!"_ ]

Kurogasa skidded to a halt. "Eh? Are you sure?"

[ _"Yes, let her have some time to cool off. Then when you see her at school, give them to her."_ ]

"Uh… well, okay."

[ _"Mattaku… you're growing up too fast, aren't you."_ ] Shishou chuckled.

"O-Oi! Shishou!" Kurogasa stammered with a blush. "I'm hanging up!"

And he did. Several minutes later, the other three chefs walked out looking slightly tired save for Soma, "Hey guys, how did you do?"

"Shiki and I barely survived by the skin of our teeth." Beatrix said, "What do you do to Erina?"

"Yeah, she ripped us a new one. She kept telling us the flaws in our dishes so fast and brutal, it felt like bullets were passing by us!" Shiki groaned.

"To be honest… I don't know." Kurogasa said. "I cooked my dish and I passed the test, but… she was crying. I don't know why."

"Ha, well that means you either made something so disgusting that she took a chance of taking you in or you made something awesome!" Soma grinned.

"Soma… I made a girl cry in the wrong way because I made a dish so good. That's never happened to me before…" Kurogasa said sadly.

"Huh, really?" Soma asked, looking confused. When Kurogasa's reaction didn't change, that's when he turned serious. "You're serious."

"Yeah… it's… I don't know…" Kurogasa trailed off.

"Well either way you have the chance to talk to her again, unlike me." Soma said.

"I… guess so…" Kurogasa muttered sadly, before he realized the other part he said and looked at him incredulously. "Wait… you failed?"

"Yup!"

"I thought so. No wonder your old man always beats you in your bouts with him." He deadpanned.

"Haha! It wasn't that the girl enjoyed it, it was him trolling her!" The hat wearer laughed. "I told you to reel it in, but you had to tease her."

"I couldn't help it." Soma shrugged with a grin.

"You really don't understand the feelings of a woman don't you…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Thanks!" Soma said as if was being complimented.

*BONK!*

"OW!"

"Baka! That wasn't a compliment!" Kurogasa comically snapped before bopping him on the head.

"Oh well, come on," Beatrix said as she walked ahead, "I'm buying lunch. Everyone but Soma survived God's Tongue and I'm hungry."

"Haha, good, let's get some sake!" Shiki grinned.

*BONK!*

"OW!"

"Baka! We're underaged!" Kurogasa snapped.

"Fine, fine… chocolate infused with whiskey." Shiki nodded sagely.

*BONK!*

"OW!"

"NO!"

"Ugh… fine, ya buzzkill." Shiki rolled his eyes before looking at Soma. "What about you? You coming?"

"Sure, I got nowhere else to go." Soma shrugged.

* * *

Later on that day, as the sun set, Erina was in her office on the phone. Yes, she has her own office. Being a member of the Elite Ten Council had its perks. The Elite Ten Council as previously explained are the best of the school, all ranked from 1 to 10. Erina being the 10th is still remarkable for a freshman, but the Elite Ten are more or less the true leaders of the school and can even overthrow the director if they wanted to… but why would they? Besides their power, they are also responsible for handling the Academy's internal evaluations, including judging the achievements based on the student presentations in the Academy grounds as well as helping organize events.

"Yes, this is Erina." The girl said over the phone. "Tell my grandfather, the Director of the Academy, that three transfer students have passed."

Erina nodded as she heard the other speaker, "Yes… they were rather good… thank you." The girl hung up before she sat down and stared at the ceiling with a blank look on her face for a moment before she looked around the room to make sure, even though she was by herself, that no one was looking. Erina went under her desk to move a loose floorboard, taking out a small book and pulling out photo in its hiding place. It was her when she was five years old… she was smiling when a young boy was holding her hand, smiling widely as well.

"That boy… no… it _can't_ be him… he never came back…" Erina shook her head. The boy from ten years ago was the only person that made her smile like any other person would. He made her a simple cake that was good, and she wouldn't have anything else but that. However, that all changed when he never came back, all thanks to her father. Because of him, she couldn't see that boy ever again. It's been ten years since they've last seen each other and she doesn't have the slightest clue of where he is. The only thing she could do now is hope to meet him again sometime in the future. That is, _if_ she ever sees him again. "…I should get ready for the opening ceremony tomorrow." She stated before slipping the photo back into the book and the book back into its secret spot before covering it with loose floorboard.

She started to leave until her hand held onto the doorknob, smiling a bit, "It would be so wonderful if it was him though… his food tasted like that cake… so sweet and kind…"

* * *

 **Fen:** WOHOO! First chapter done! And I'm pretty sure you guys know who Kurogasa's teacher is.

 **AQ: *Does Shishou/Kurogasa pose*** If not… Go seek the Kamen Rider Kabuto series!

 **Fen:** Mhmm. Hopefully, you all liked this chapter! I'm gonna continue watching the rest of the episodes and see what ideas I can come up with!

 **AQ** : …Yeah this guy is WAY behind on the series.

 **Fen:** Hey, you can't blame me for being late about it! I've been busy with other stuff. Not to mention, there's not that many good animes nowadays that interest me.

 **AQ:** You're not wrong about the anime this season. No good harem one… oh well, good thing we have Berserk.

 **Fen:** Uh… right. Well anyways, see ya on the next Main Course!


	2. Dish 2

**Fen:** Hello fans! Fen and Queen here for another chapter of Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma!

 **AQ:** Yup… another ecchi chapter.

 **Fen:** Say wha?

 **AQ:** Oh come on, the author made hentai and Shokugeki is on the borderline on being hentai XD!

 **Fen:** Yeah I know, I know… they should've toned down on that… yeesh…

 **AQ:** Oh well at least we got a ton of cute girls… hehehe!

 **Fen:** Uh… right. Well anyways, let's start this chapter!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

Today was the opening ceremony of the Freshman class in Tōtsuki Culinary Academy. More specifically, this year's freshmen class were the 92nd Generation and exactly 1000 students have assembled in hopes to be a great chef. The spring cherry blossoms bloomed as the petals were blown away by the gentle wind as the students were walking towards an area. It was a grassy area where it was surrounded by long cloth screens forming a square. The kind you would see in ancient times where warlords would plan and strategiz. Inside students were loitering around talking with each other as they waited for the Director of the Academy to make his speech. As they were coming in, a timid blue-haired girl was looking around nervously. She was a 15 year-old girl with long dark blue hair and two braided pigtails, wearing a flower hairpin on the right side of her hair. She has yellow colored eyes and a petite body figure while wearing the seasonal uniform of the Academy.

Her name is Megumi Tadokoro.

In her childhood, she grew up in a small port town in the Tōhoku region. She idolized her mother and worked in the kitchen with her, hoping to be as skilled as her. Her mother was the owner and head chef of the Shōkeien Ryokan. Unfortunately, many of the staff grew old and were unable to prepare the inn's signature goosefish dish. So to save the inn from falling apart, Megumi took it upon herself to learn the skill from the local fishermen. Though she had a bit of difficulty in the beginning, Megumi eventually learned the skill, allowing the inn to cook their signature dish. Her mother was impressed of her skill at her age and recommended that she attend Tōtsuki Culinary Academy. Though Megumi wanted to stay and continue to help the inn, her mother persuaded her to go and improve her skills even further.

As she prepared to depart from her hometown, Megumi was sent off from the train station by her mother, the ryokan staff, and the fishermen she worked with over the years. One of the people there gave Megumi an Omamori, a Japanese good luck charm, as a memento for her to take to Tōtsuki. She would hold this charm whenever she is stressed or needs an extra boost of confidence. With her family and friends' high expectations and support, Megumi bid farewell to them as she departed to begin a new chapter of her life.

Of course, that proved to be a bit difficult.

"Uwwa…" The girl moaned in fear as she saw the students who look more confident than her passing her by. "If I get one more E… I'll be booted out of here!" She clutched her head in sudden alarm totally afraid of that future.

"Excuse me." A boy's voice said behind her shocking her to the point of her jumping up high.

"Eeeeeeeeeek!" She shrieked before turning around to see Kurogasa standing there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The boy said with hands doing the 'calm down' gesture.

"S-Sorry! I-I just got bad news." The girl said hoping that the boy isn't like the others in the school being mean and scary.

"Eh? What is it?" Kurogasa tilted his head.

"I-It's nothing you needn't worry about! B-But thank you for listening!" The girl bowed respectfully making sure she wasn't going to anger the boy.

"Okay, first of all, calm down. I'm not gonna bite." Kurogasa chuckled. "Now, what's wrong?"

"W-Well… if I get one more E… I'll be forced to leave the school." The girl finally admitted, slumping her head downwards.

"You mean being expelled?"

"Ha~i!" Megumi cried waterfall tears.

"Pfft, like that's gonna happen." He scoffed.

"It's going to happen, no matter what I do, I keep getting E's… the only time I survived this long was because of my partners in class. Now I'm all alone in my classes." The girl whimpered, shivering in fear.

"You're not alone." Kurogasa assured.

"Huh?" Megumi blinked confused before he raised a finger in the air.

"Shishou ga iteita: A bond is a deep connection that can never be broken. Even if apart, heart and heart are still connected." He quoted.

Though Kurogasa was trying to cheer her up… Megumi sweat dropped, "I never said that they were expelled. I'm just not in the same classroom with them."

"Oh… uh, wrong quote then. Er-hem!" Kurogasa cleared his throat. "Let me try that again."

"No, it's okay…" Megumi gave a small kind smile. "Thank you… I'm still a little scared, but I think I can go through with this ceremony."

"Oh… Well, okay then." Kurogasa smiled somewhat silly. "Ah, name's Kurogasa Kururugi."

"Oh… my name is Megumi Tadokoro." The girl bowed once more. "Thank you for your encouragement."

"You're welcome. If you have any more problems, just come to me. I'll take care of ya." Kurogasa grinned, placing a hand on her head. "Ganbatte ne, Megumi-chan."

"Hai… arigatou, Kurogasa." The girl said weakly.

"Saa, ikou ka?" Kurogasa asked, before walking towards the students.

"Actually I see my friends over there… but thank you still." Megumi said softly as she left to where a violet-haired and orange-haired girl were.

"Well, at least there's another good person here." Kurogasa said to himself before he looked at the bouquet of pink and yellow roses he had recently purchased before coming to the ceremony and sighed. "I just hope to get Erina on her good side too."

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix. **  
(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy. **  
(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them. **  
(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background. **  
(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot. **  
(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give up and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures. **  
(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 2:** Cuban Beef Stew with Rice Pilaf

Soon, all of the Freshman class were lined up in formation like a huge army, as they were waiting for the Director to give out his speech. Kurogasa was a few rows in the back of the crowd as he was with Beatrix. However, Soma and Shiki were nowhere to he found.

"So this is the entire Freshman ceremony?" Kurogasa asked Beatrix.

"Appears so…" Beatrix softly said as she munched on some chocolate truffles.

"Hey where's Shiki?" The brown haired teen asked as Beatrix shrugged.

"He said he's not coming by since his older sister told what is expected. I think he's trying to find a dorm to go to." The girl said now eating white chocolate truffles.

"Maji ka yo…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"What can I say? He's weird. He hates to do things he already knows, so he skips them to work on something else."

"I see." Kurogasa said before he looked around. "Where the heck is Soma anyway?"

"Hmm? Didn't he fail?" Beatrix asked as she sucked on a lollipop.

"He can at least see me off." Kurogasa shrugged.

"Hm… Say, what's with the bouquet of flowers?" Beatrix noticed.

"Eh? Oh uh…" Kurogasa got out as he held that said bouquet.

"Pink and yellow roses… cute." Beatrix said with a smirk. "Someone caught your eye already?"

"N-No, this is for an apology to Erina." Kurogasa blushed.

"Erina?"

"Y-Yeah… I made her cry for the wrong reason when she tasted my food… and I wanted to apologize."

"You get used to it like I have, making someone cry is impossible unless you're a saint." The girl said yawning.

"And yet I did…" Kurogasa sighed.

"You need to-" Beatrix started but stop when she saw an Erina walking up to the stage. "And now it begins."

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked before looking to the stage.

"And now to introduce to you, the Director of Tōtsuki Academy, Senzaemon Nakiri!" The announcer said.

He was an elderly man, who has long spiky white hair with a mustache and a beard. He also has a scar on his right eye running diagonally from the middle of his forehead down to just above his right cheekbone. Despite his advanced age, he was incredibly fit and muscular. And he has a very intense, intimidating look when most students look at him. His wardrobe consists of an olive-colored yukata tied by a white obi and normally walks around with a geta.

"You might want to listen in boy." Beatrix smiled before nudging his stomach. "Lest you want your crush to see you holding those flowers."

Kurogasa flinched before hiding the said flowers as soon as the old man walked to the podium and began his speech. "Congratulations on your advancement to the high school division. During your three year junior high division, you have obtained a basic skill set in cooking and deepened your understanding of each ingredient."

"Huh? Is that what the middle schoolers did here?" Kurogasa asked Beatrix who shrugged.

"Now you are finally standing at the entrance to the High school division! The challenges you'll now face are not about your skills or knowledge, but whether you have the wherewithal to survive as a food professional! Furthermore… 99% if you will be nothing more than sacrifices for the remaining 1% percent who will hone their skills!"

"Whoa!" Kurogasa said in shock. "That means…"

"Barely under a hundred in this place will survive." Beatrix calculated.

"All the more reason that I should give it my best." Kurogasa said.

"Out of the 812 students who entered our high school division last year, only… 76 made to their second year. Incompetence and mediocrity will be mercilessly excised from our student body. Thousands of students will be whittled down for the survivors who will graduate. Aspire to be that small margin to succeed in this school… Hone your skills!" Senzaemon said as it shocked them to the core in every student's ears.

Kurogasa remained silent as his face was full of determination, while his clenching his empty fist tightly.

"That is all." The elder man said, before walking off the stage.

"Hmm… that means all the more reason to get as many girls before they drop off." Beatrix said with a worried look. "Tch, I gotta look for the weak ones that will most likely be chopped off first."

"Oi, oi, oi, ochitsuite…" Kurogasa sweat dropped before the announcer came onto the stage.

"You have your crush, one woman isn't enough to satisfy me."

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…?" Kurogasa paled a bit.

"Don't act so surprised. Shiki _did_ say I had a lot of girls I broke up with." The sweets lover told with a chuckle.

"I'll… take your word for it…" Kurogasa muttered.

Meanwhile, Erina was sitting behind the stage as she watched the students listen in. _'This Academy only has such strong name recognition because of the intense competition, allowing only a select few to complete their education. Should one succeed in advancing to actual graduation, their stardom in the food world will be assured for the rest of their lifetime. But I pity those of you who're in the same generation as me. You have been destined to fight over who gets to be in second place ever since you were born. The pinnacle of Tōtsuki_ _Academy, and of the Japanese food world, belongs to me, Erina Nakiri.'_

She then looked towards the crowd and saw Kurogasa standing, as he looked at the stage. When his eyes met with hers, he uttered a small noise of surprise before looking away shyly. _'That boy…'_ Erina thought as her eyes unwillingly broke away, as she continued her train of thought. _'His food wasn't bad… it was better than that idiotic red-haired boy's food. But why did I cry so much from that dish? Why did I like it so much… I wish I knew the answer.'_

"Finally, we would like to introduce a few transfer students who will be joining your ranks." The announcer said.

"Huh? Another person passed, through a different exam other than the three that I passed?" Erina said to himself.

"I think I know why Soma didn't come to see you off." Beatrix said.

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked. The girl pointed to the stage to see Soma talking to the mic, "Ehhhhhhhhhh?! Soma is on stage?! But I thought he failed!"

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!" Erina gawked at the red-haired boy. _'No way! Impossible!'_

"Eeto… I'm Soma Yukihira." He introduced. "Truth be told, I don't have much to say, so I'll be brief. This Academy is just a stepping stone for me."

"Oi, Soma, what are you doing?" Kurogasa hissed to himself.

"He's pretty much trolling everyone here." Beatrix answered, drinking a soda bottle.

"How many sweets are you going to eat and drink anyways?" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Enough to kill someone, which means to me… as much as I can." The girl now chewed on gum, leaving Kurogasa to sweat drop even larger.

"I didn't expect to be admitted in this Academy, but I don't plan on losing to some bunch that has never served customers." Soma continued as most of the students were either angry or shocked about his bluntness. "Basically, now that I'm here, I'll take the number one spot." He then walked over to the side of the stand and bowed. "Hope to work well with y'all for the next three years."

"Why you little-!"

"Hey!"

"I'm gonna kill ya!"

There was an uproar amongst the crowd of students as Soma walked away without a care in the world.

"Dang it Soma, why do you always have to antagonize everyone?" Kurogasa gritted with deadpan eyes that furrowed in annoyance.

"Beats me. I wonder if that boy took a page from Shiki's handbook and drank a wee bit of whiskey like he did." Beatrix said as she licked a snow cone.

"A-A-And now to present our next transfer student! Kurogasa Kururugi!" The announcer stuttered.

"Yabai!" Kurogasa panicked slightly, then looked to Beatrix now eating raw sugar. "You're going to get diabetes or something if you eat nothing but sugar… literally."

"Been eating like this since I was five, and it hasn't kill me yet." Beatrix said before chewing on taffy. "Hey, shouldn't you go? They're waiting for you oh lord who conquer God's Tongue."

"Ah… right." Kurogasa said sheepishly before slowly walking towards the stage while hiding the pink and yellow rose bouquet as best as he could. As he was walking, students were murmuring against one another.

"Hey, who _is_ that guy?"

"He's the one that conquered God's Tongue."

"Impossible, there's no way."

"Yeah. Every dish she tried was immediately rejected, but this guy passed."

Erina's head perked when she saw the boy she judged. As mentioned before, his food didn't have a single flaw. Because of this and writing only good things, the school deemed him worthy to be noticed by others. She saw him walk to the stage, almost nervously as he felt the stares piercing at him as he hid the bouquet under the stand.

"H-Hajimemashite…" Kurogasa stuttered nervously. "I'm Kurogasa Kururugi. I-It's nice to meet you all. I'm… sure you've heard about me passing the transfer exam and well, ehehe… it's all true."

"Kururugi?"

"I never heard of any business or restaurant who uses that name."

"Wait… he's a commoner?"

"I bet he cheated!"

"I uh… really don't know what to say, except hoping that many of us can stay in this school. What I see are people working hard to earn their goals… so I pray for your success." Kurogasa bowed kindly. "Thank you."

The students looked at each other, surprised that someone like him was so honest and humble. Especially Erina. "He's… kind to the people talking bad about him." The usually prideful girl spoke in confusion. The old man sitting to the side on the stage eyed the boy.

 _'Hmm… so this is the boy he's been teaching? Unlike him, Kurogasa has the sense of honor and humility I haven't seen in many years… perhaps even decades.'_

The old man give out loud, 'hmph' while smiling with pride.

With that, Kurogasa walked off the stage with the bouquet in tow and as he went backstage, to exit that way while the announcer went on to have Beatrix come up to the stage. At the said backstage, he saw Erina standing there. "E-Erina… a-ano…"

"It's you." The girl said as Kurogasa stood there.

"Uh, yeah… it's… me…" Kurogasa replied. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two as the wind gently blew past them. A moment later, he couldn't take it anymore and bowed deeply while presenting the rose bouquet to her. "GOMENASAI!"

"H-Huh?! Wait, what do you mean sorry?" The girl asked confused, taken aback.

"I didn't mean to make you cry when you tasted my food!" Kurogasa said as he kept his head down. "Shishou told me this: I must never make a girl cry and handle food so crudely! I thought you would be impressed with my cooking and even though I never handled the food so crudely and you passed me, I still made you cry! And for that, I'm sorry!"

Erina took a step back in surprise as he looked at him with her jaws dropped. She had no clue how to handle this. The boy was just too… sincere and honest! How could she _not_ accept the apology?! And he wasn't going to move until she accepted it anyways.

"F-Fine, I accept them. Just don't go out of your way to do this next time." Erina sighed before taking the flowers. "Also… I liked it. It wasn't made crudely."

Kurogasa looked up at her. "Really? You liked it?"

"Yes… I did."

Kurogasa had the brightest eyes and smile he ever had when she praised him. "Arigatou!"

Erina's eyes widened slightly when he saw Kurogasa's expression, _'Those eyes and that smile… He's just like…'_

"Eh? What is it? Is there something on my face?" Kurogasa asked.

"It's nothing!" Erina said, looking away embarrassed. "Can I ask you something though? Why pink and yellow roses?"

"Oh uh… my Shishou told me that it was perfect for girls your age." Kurogasa said a bit embarrassed for using a lame reason. "And… he said that flowers can make any girl glow."

"But… I think I remember from a manga that pink and yellow roses mean…" Erina whispered before blushing brightly. "They mean… admiration and friendship…" Erina whispered almost silently to herself so that Kurogasa was unable to hear her.

"Eh? Did you say something?"

"N-No! Just talking to myself!" Erina stammered. "Uh… anyways, thank you for the flowers… I'll… put them in my office…"

"Arigatou!" Kurogasa smiled again. "Well, I'll guess see you around. I'll make something really good for you next time. So good, even a simple cake will be to your liking."

"!" Erina's eyes widened as she gasped. "What did you-"

"Ja nee!" Kurogasa grinned, before running off.

Erina just stood there holding the flowers with a blush, "What just happened? Does he…?" She then sighed as her blush faded. "I just hope my cousin doesn't find out or else she will never let this down."

As Kurogasa ran off, Senzaemon was standing there in hiding as he saw the boy run off with the goofiest grin on his face. "Hmm, I haven't seen Erina show that much interest in someone in a long time. This might work after all…"

* * *

Later on…

"When were you going to tell me you passed!?" Kurogasa yelled at Soma as they were walking towards the school for their first class. Despite being happy that Erina accepted his apology, he was mad at Soma for not telling him that he actually passed the transfer exam.

"Ehehe… warui na." Soma said sheepishly.

"Sorry my butt! I thought you were gonna see me off!"

"You guys seem cheery." Shiki said as he approached them. "How was the ceremony?"

"And where were _you_?!" Kurogasa snapped.

"Joining a club." The drinker said with a smell that the boys noticed. "…Hic…"

"Wait… *sniff, sniff* are you drinking?" Soma asked after smelling the boy closely.

"No~ *hic*!"

"Yeah, you were…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"The club demanded it!" Shiki whined childishly. "But now I'm the leader!"

"Don't worry, he doesn't stay drunk for long." Beatrix said appearing next to Shiki.

"Gah! What's with you appearing out of nowhere?!" Soma freaked out.

"The power of sweets allow me to do this!" The girl stated copying Kurogasa's pose. "Sweets are raw energy…"

"Uh, right…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Wait, how much sweets have you eaten or drank today?" Shiki said sobering up.

"Uhh…" Beatrix started before dashing away.

…

…

…

…

"We got a runner." Shiki said before he ran after her. "Be back, good luck in your class!"

"What an odd pair." Soma commented.

"Yeah, they're odd alright." Kurogasa added. "So, where are you headed?"

"Test Kitchen #3." Soma said. "The staff said we're to be split into different groups and different classes, and starting coursework right off the bat. I have to admit, I haven't done a class in cooking since Home Economics."

"Yeesh, so much for taking it easy." Kurogasa sighed. "Well, I'll be in Test Kitchen #2. I'll see you later."

"Yep, later." Soma grinned before walking off.

"Excuse me." A voice said. Kurogasa turned around to see a girl with long black hair with a ponytail tied by a red ribbon and brown eyes. She looked like she could be an idol, as she is very cute and petite and she wore her uniform along with a red armband to signify that she is an MC.

"Yes, can I help you? Miss…" Kurogasa got out.

"Urara Kawashima!" She perked.

"Oh. Okay. What is it?"

"A package came for you." Urara said, presenting the said package.

"For me?" He blinked as he took it. On the package, was an envelope that had the japanese kanji for Heaven (天). "Ah! It's from Shishou! Thanks!"

The boy opened the package and pulled out… a white double-breasted chef jacket. Like all other chef jackets, it was white and it signifies cleanliness in the cooking world. However, there was a twist to it. The double-breasted chef jacket was designed like a tailcoat and it had four golden ropes on the chest that connected the buttons. On left side of the jacket was a strange symbol and it looked like a mechanical Japanese rhino beetle.

"A chef jacket?" Urara tilted her head in confusion.

"A modified one at that." Kurogasa grinned before he opened the envelope to see a letter inside. " _'Force the world to revolve around you. It's more fun to think that way'_. Shishou. Ehehe… I know you're trying to boost my confidence, but I think you're trying to get me killed." He said to himself.

"Hm?" Urara said confused.

"Uh, nothing. Thanks for the package." Kurogasa waved, before he left for his class.

* * *

Soon Kurogasa arrived at Test Kitchen #2 and he was at the doorway with his new chef jacket on. "Well, let's hope I don't stand out _too_ much wearing this." He said to himself before sliding open the door.

The moment he stepped in, the students already inside stared at him and he started sweating. _'Oh boy… I'm already attracting attention. Not good… dang it Shishou…'_ he thought as he slowly walked in, trying his best to ignore the stares. _'Okay calm down, just ignore the people staring at you. You're fine…'_ He added nervously to himself.

"Hey it's that guy." one student said.

"The one who conquered God's Tongue?"

"I saw him give some flowers to Erina-sama, you think they have an arranged marriage?"

"They were pink and yellow rose too."

"Don't they mean admiration and friendship?!"

"Ehhhhhh?! Are you serious?! You mean he has a crush on her?!"

 _'Shimatta! They saw that?!'_ Kurogasa panicked as he hurriedly quickened to pace to his station. _'Yabai, yabai, yabai, yabai, yabai!'_

"Oi~." A female girl's voice caused him to flinch.

Kurogasa turned around to see two girls behind him. The first was a petite young girl with teal colored eyes and amber-colored hair tied neatly into two buns on the sides of her head. If she ever let her hair down, her hair reaches the bottom of her head, except for her bangs which barely reach her eyes. The second was a girl with long purple hair going down to her waist with split bangs that reach her chest and has orange colored eyes. She has a slender body figure and a large bust and both were wearing a chef uniform.

"You know we're in the same class, right?" The violet-haired girl said. "And calm down. You look like someone in your family died or something… I hope not."

"I-Iie. It's just… I'm getting too much attention." Kurogasa sweat dropped sheepishly.

"I'll say." The amber-haired girl joked. "It's either people hate you or wonder if you're really that good."

"Really?" Kurogasa sighed, "I guess Shishou rubbed off on me more than I thought."

"Your Shishou?" the violet-haired girl asked.

"Yeah. He used to go here." Kurogasa answered. "75th Generation."

"Huh…" The violet-haired girl gave a thinking look. "Not many I remember from that generation that stood out except…" She then comically shivered.

"Eh? What is it?" Kurogasa asked. But before the violet-haired girl could answer…

"HOLA AMIGOS!"

They were interrupted by the sudden loud noise of Hispanic music. A man came into the door dancing in a nice rhythm as he brought in a radio with him. He was a man in his 30's with was bronze skin tall man wearing a chef uniform in white. He had shaggy hair that looked rather nice for him, considering his nature so far. He had a mole under his left eye that showed his sharp eyes that glanced around the classroom and then turned off the radio before bowing to the class, "Hola mi amigos! Today you're my students!"

"Uhh, sensei?" A random female student waved her hand. "Umm… you're our teacher?"

"Si, señorita!" The man grinned widely. "I am chef Miguel Fernandez and I specialize in Hispanic cuisine!"

"Well… let it not be said that today will not be eventful." Kurogasa laughed nervously as the man laughed.

"YOU!" Miguel yelled, suddenly jumping over the classroom and landed right in front of Kurogasa, freaking him out. "So _you're_ the one that got the little Señorita Erina so flustered!" the Hispanic man then put Kurogasa in a headlock. "You must tell me how to swoon the ladies like you did, si? HAHAHAHA!"

"Can't breathe!" Kurogasa wheezed, turning blue rapidly.

"Okay~! No more joking!" The man said tossing the teen to the side. "Alright mijos and mijas! Time for cooking. Now today we're making Cuban Beef Stew with Rice Pilaf today. This recipe hits me a little close to mi casa because it's the dish my abuela taught me in the first steps of becoming a chef!" Miguel said with a small smile. "Now here is the recipe on how to do it." He then took a dry-erase marker and wrote on the board.

"You okay?" The orange-haired girl tilted her head.

"Peachy…" Kurogasa groaned with swirly eyes.

"Alright. Here's what you'll need." Miguel said. "You'll need 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 chopped onion, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1½ pounds of cubed sirloin tips, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 cup of dry sherry 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, 1/4 cup raisins, 2 tablespoons capers, 4 potatoes that are peeled and quartered, and salt and pepper."

"Oh boy, that's a lot of ingredients." Kurogasa said after recovering.

"Step 1. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in oil, stirring frequently, until it's transparent. Stir in the cubed meat, and cook until it is browned. Then add in red bell pepper, bay leaf, cumin, and oregano. And let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes." Miguel instructed.

"Step 2. Stir in the sherry, tomato sauce, vinegar, olives, raisins, and capers. Pour in enough water to just cover meat and bring it to a boil. After that, reduce the heat to low, and cover it. Let it simmer for about about 1 1/2 hours. And just add more water if the stew becomes too thick."

"Aw man… this is a lot to cover." Kurogasa got out as he tried to write the recipe down in his notebook.

"Step 3, stir the potatoes into the stew. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for the remaining 30 minutes while it is covered, until the potatoes are almost tender and you're done!"

"Finally…" Kurogasa sighed as he finished writing.

"Now for the Rice Pilaf."

"Ughhhhhh…" Kurogasa groaned.

"Don't worry. This won't take long." Miguel assured. "You'll need 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 onion, chopped, 2 cups long-grain white rice, 3 cups chicken stock, 1½ teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper." He listed.

"First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat then the Add onion. Cook and stir until the onion is lightly browned, for about 7 to 8 minutes. Then remove from the heat."

"Next combine rice and onion mixture in a 9x13-inch casserole dish placed on a baking sheet. Stir thoroughly to coat the rice. Then you will combine chicken stock, salt, and cayenne pepper in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 5 minutes."

"Once you're done with that, pour the chicken stock mixture over the rice in the casserole dish and stir to combine. Make sure to spread the mixture evenly along the bottom of the pan. Then you cover it tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil." Miguel said. "Then all that's left is to bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Then remove it from oven to allow it to rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and fluff with a fork to separate the grains of rice and perfecto! Rice pilaf!"

"Yeesh…" Kurogasa groaned as his shook his arm from writing so fast.

"Now, sorry to do this, but this first class is either win or fail. Meaning chicos and chicas that you either impress me to get an A or an E." Miguel said as he sat back on his desk. "You got only two tries to make it, so if you fail once on this… you better make sure you get it right on the second try."

"Piece of cake! We got this!" the amber-haired girl grinned, punching an empty palm.

"This should be interesting." the violet-haired girl added.

"Ah, one more thing. Since I'm a nice guy, I'll let you all pair up with a student to get this assignment done. Easy, no?"

"Yosh! All the better!" The amber-haired girl said excited.

"So…" Miguel started to pair up the students as Kurogasa was trying to remember the recipe.

 _'Hmm, don't really have experience in this area.'_ Kurogasa thought as the teacher kept pairing up people. _'Other than the rice. I'm an expert at all kinds of rice.'_

"Finally, Kurogasa Kururugi and Ryoko Sakaki. Now then start up and do your best." Miguel said as he resumed his music. "Let the salsa music help you work."

"Wait, who's-"

"That would be me." The violet-haired girl said speaking from the boy's side. "Ryoko, nice to meet you Kurogasa."

"And I'm Yuki Yoshino! Heya!" the amber-haired girl chirped.

"L-Likewise." Kurogasa said, relaxing a bit. "Alright, let's do this!"

* * *

Meanwhile in Test Kitchen #3, Soma was paired with Megumi for their course work. Their sensei was Roland Chapelle, head of the French Culinary division.

As the head of the French Culinary Division, Roland is very serious to his native style. And he does not suffer fools gladly, so much so that he can still give off an intimidating vibe to Tōtsuki Academy Alumni who have been under his tutelage even years after graduation. To Roland, any dish that is not "A" quality grade is an "E" grade failure. As a result, many students fear his classes. However, Roland is also a lecturer who treats his students fairly. He is extremely insightful and worries about his students' progress even after they graduate, taking pride whenever they manage to overcome and grow beyond their previous obstacles.

The dish they had to make was Boeuf Bourguignon, a classic staple of the French Cuisine and they had two hours to make it. So the students started working on the said dish, however, that proved to be difficult when Megumi kept stumbling and messing up.

 _'Just take the beef out in 39 minutes! Take the beef out in 38 minutes!'_ The easily frightened girl mentally yelled in her mind before Soma yelled out.

"Hey, look at the spices they have!"

"EEP~!" The girl looked to where Soma was and sighed. "I feel silly for freaking out like that… I should get a serving dish while I can."

However, as she walked away, she didn't notice two students smirking at the defenseless kitchen sation. They grabbed a salt shaker and went quickly… not noticing another person who was watching them and writing something down.

"You guys are in bi~g trouble…" He muttered to himself.

* * *

"Yosh… everything looks good so far." Kurogasa said to himself, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm before going back to work on the rice pilaf. "How are things on your end, Ryoko-san?"

"Good over here." The girl said as she was working on the meat dish.

"Yokatta…" Kurogasa sighed in relief.

"You need to loosen up," Ryoko giggled.

"Ehehe, warui na." Kurogasa laughed weakly with a sheepish smile. "I haven't been this tense since my first days of training with Shishou."

Ryoko almost dropped the presentation plate on the floor, "Gah!"

"Careful!" Kurogasa gasped as he held her hand, holding the plate as she caught it in time. "That was close…"

"Thank you…" Ryoko sighed in relief as she placed the plate back on the counter. "But should you be getting this friendly with me? What about Erina?" Ryoko teased as Kurogasa started to stutter.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-You saw that?! B-B-But I was backstage with her! I was _sure_ no one saw!"

"Some guys did. So you are dating Erina?" The girl said now really curious.

"No! We just met! I just gave her flowers as an apology!" The boy assured as the girl got close to him.

"So that means you're available?"

"O-Oi! Chotto!" Kurogasa panicked.

"Hahaha!" Ryoko laughed as she backed off. "It was a joke, don't take things seriously or you'll quickly turn into an old man."

Kurogasa chuckled sheepishly as he nodded, "Sorry. So Ryoko… how long have you been a chef?"

"Oh, since I was a little girl. My family owns a well-known Kōji and fermented goods shop. Then after working hard, I thought I would apply myself into the middle-school section of this place. And now I'm here." The violet-haired girl said as she finished the Cuban Beef Stew. "What about you?"

"Oh uh… well, I've been cooking since I was four." Kurogasa began. "I would help out Kaa-san in the kitchen to cook whenever I come home from school and finish my homework. Although…"

"Hm?"

"When I was six, I baked this cake for a girl. She was a friend of mine. Every other food I cooked and she tried, she would push it away. But… when she ate my cake, she loved it. She wanted to eat more and I was more than happy to have her eat as much as she wanted. But then… her father kicked me out, not wanting me to see her ever again…"

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that." The girl apologized with a sad look. "Have you ever found her?"

"No," Kurogasa sighed as he placed the rice on the plate in a neat fashion. "It's been ten years since then. After I was kicked out, I met Shishou, and he taught me everything he knew about cooking."

"I see." Ryoko nodded.

"Maybe I could find her here in this Academy. And when I do, I'll do everything I can to protect her from her father. Then I'll make him eat crow… literally."

"What?" Ryoko said, before giggling. "Well, I hope you meet her again."

"Hehe, thanks. Alright, now put the stew on top of the rice." The boy said as Ryoko raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, isn't it supposed to be on the side?"

"Just do it." Kurogasa said as he smiled with confidence.

"Well, okay, if you say so." Ryoko said, before taking the ladle and placed the stew over the rice.

"Alright, now for the finishing touch." Kurogasa grinned as he pulled out… saffrons?

"Saffrons?" Ryoko questioned.

"Yup. It has a sweet-like taste giving the spicy dish some depth." Kurogasa said as he placed it on top as a garnish. "Miguel-sensei!"

"Si?" The man asked, standing up. "Oh, you're done?"

"Hai. Please evaluate." Kurogasa nodded.

"Very well." The man then went over to their station and looked, seeing the red spice, "Ohh, you added something to this?"

"Hai. I hope you don't mind."

"It's fine, but it may or may not help your grade mind you."

"We understand." Ryoko nodded.

"Okay. Let's see then." Miguel said as he took a fork and pressed against one of the cubed beef and the juices immediately flowed out. "Hmmm… really tender, good." He commented before he used his spoon to scoop up some of the stew. "The consistency of the stew is even and equal." He added.

However, when he ate the stew and rice, he stopped… before smiling widely with tears running down his face. "DELICIOSO! Dios mio, this is great! The rice that was cooked to perfection had the juice of the meat stew and the meat cubes are tender enough to melt in your mouth. And the saffrons… my goodness, the sweetness enhanced the depth of the spiciness so much, it makes me want to dance the salsa!"

"So it's an A?" Kurogasa asked as the man nodded.

"Si! But I wish I could give you a higher grade, because this is exactly how my abuela used to make it!" Miguel nodded as he gave them their papers written in a fast pace. And then he stamped it with an 'A' on it.

"Yatta/Yosha!" Ryoko and Kurogasa cheered before giving each other a high-five.

"Alright you guys can leave, the rest of the school day is yours!" The man said.

The students sighed in relief at that. They managed to pass his test, so it was nice to get a breather. Meanwhile, two other students watched the evaluation from afar. They too had an 'A' as well. It was easy. They were two males; one was with blue eyes and short blonde hair with a fringe that parts to both sides and one long bang in between the two and wears a chef uniform with orange highlights. The other had brownish-black hair that is combed backwards and is very spiky. He wears the same uniform as him.

These were the twin brothers Takumi and Isami Aldini.

"Hmm…" The blonde hummed to himself.

"Something the matter, Nii-chan?" The larger set of the twins asked.

"No, it's nothing." The blonde said.

"Ah, I should make a spare plate." Kurogasa said as he and Ryoko came back into the classroom and the former did just that.

"Hmm? What for?" Ryoko asked, but then realized. "Ho~ is it for Erina to taste?"

"Gh!" Kurogasa flinched. "How did you-"

"A girl can always tell when someone is trying impress a girl."

"L-Look, I promised to make her a dish next time so she could try it, okay?" Kurogasa flustered comically.

"Sureeeee, whatever floats your boat." Ryoko giggled.

"IT'S TRUE!" Kurogasa huffed.

* * *

Back in Test Kitchen #3, the students in Chapelle's class were waiting for their beef to be braised and while waiting, Soma was walking around a bit before he noticed something about their pot. It was strangely opened for some reason. Soma raised an eyebrow at that. Why would it be open when it was supposed to be left closed for the meat to braise properly. "Tadokoro, did you open the lid open?" He asked her.

"Huh?" Megumi asked, turning to him before she approached the pot. "No. We have to let the beef simmer for another twenty minutes."

Soma thought about it for a moment. If Megumi didn't open the lid, who did? He looked over his shoulder and noticed two students who smirked evilly with a chuckle. Soma's eyes slightly widened before he looked back to Megumi who opened the pot.

"What is this white stuff?" Megumi gasped, as she saw a white powdery substance that was poured on top of the meat. Soma quickly took a spoon and took a sample of the white stuff before tasting it.

"It's salt…" Soma frowned.

"What? How?" Megumi frantically said. "We can't use this meat anymore! We'll have to start over, but it takes more than an hour to tenderize and season the meat! Then we have to braise the meat in the sauce for at least half an hour so that the flavor mingles!" She then looked towards the clock. "We have only 30 minutes left… but if we serve this salt-caked dish, we'll get an E rating for sure." She then began to tear up as she thought, _'And I'm going to be expelled for this… I can't afford to fail here… I can't…'_

"I got some spare ingredients." Soma said, as he came back with an extra set the ingredients needed. "Let's put our game faces on."

"Huh?" Megumi broke out of her train of thought. "What? But we don't have much time!"

"That teacher said some pretty good things there." Soma said before he unwrapped the bandage on his left arm. "We're cooking pros before we're students."

"H-Huh?" Megumi got out before Soma wrapped the bandage around his head and tied it.

"I'm gonna serve up a dish, no matter what." Soma vowed before he opened up his case to reveal three knives, and taking out one of them. He then turned to her. "Help me out!"

"H-Hai!"

And so, the race against the clock began as Soma and Megumi worked on restarting their dish. He chopped up all the necessary vegetables into the right proportions and was working on the meat as well.

"Here's the salt, pepper, and bouquet garni!" Megumi said.

"Thanks!" Soma said. He kept going as he used all the ingredients needed to rework the dish and strangely enough, he added honey.

"Heh, look at the big-mouth transfer student all worked up." One of the perpetrators chuckled.

"Well, I bet an E rating is guaranteed, no matter what." The other added.

Twenty minutes later…

"Evaluation, please!"

The two perpetrators looked shocked as they turned to see that Soma and Megumi had presented their dish to Chef Chapelle.

"No way…" The first one gasped.

"That's not possible." The second added.

"All done." Soma grinned as he presented the dish in front of Chapelle. The said instructor eyed on the dish as the steam gently rose up to his nostrils, making him raise an eyebrow in interest. He then gently pressed the meat with his fork and juices from the meat immediately flowed out, surprising the instructor.

"So tender…" Chapelle muttered. "The fork's practically springing back."

 _'What?!'_ The first student thought.

 _'Impossible! There's no way there were able to braise it long enough!'_ The second student added.

"Your team had an accident, if I recall." Chapelle pointed out. "How did you manage to finish the assignment?"

"We used honey." Soma grinned, presenting the said jar. "I kneaded it into the meat before the braise, and it was also included in the seasoning."

"Hmm…" Chapelle nodded in understanding before looking at the dish. "Honey has protease, which breaks down proteins. The protease went to work on the tough beef flank, allowing you to tenderize it in the short amount of time you had left." He then gently poked the beef and sliced it with his knife, allowing more of the juices to flow out.

"B-But, how did you know that you could use honey this way?" Megumi asked Soma.

"A long time ago, I read this cookbook that said that pineapple juice tenderizes meat. It doesn't make sense to use an entire pineapple just for that, so I experimented with a bunch of different ingredients to see if anything had a similar effect. In this case, it's honey, since it has a long shelf life and is much more versatile." Soma explained. He then took a spare fork and cut a piece, before poking it and giving it to Megumi. "Here, try it out."

"H-Hai…" Megumi said before taking the fork and she along with Chapelle took a bite of the meat. Their eyes widened in surprise.

* * *

 _Megumi began imagining as she was in a beautiful meadow of sorts. She was surrounded by flowers and soon cartoonish bees with Soma's cartoonish head came flying in carrying small pots of honey and poured it all over Megumi. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" She sighed in content. "I'm melting…" The honey drizzled all over her body and soon more Soma Bees came pouring more and more honey until the meadow was slathered by a lake of honey. "I'm melting…"_

 _It wasn't long until Chapelle came out of the pool of honey, all sticky as… he was smiling too!_

 _"C'est merveilleux (It's wonderful)!" Chapelle said happily._

* * *

The entire classroom looked at their instructor, shocked and surprised. "Chapelle-sensei… smiled!" They all said in unison.

How can this be? Roland Chapelle was said to be a chef that never smiled and yet… Soma has broken that record! In fact, this could be the very first time his smile will be ever recorded in the Academy's history!

Chapelle put down his fork and he smirked, "Tadokoro and Yukihira. I will give you an A rating. However… I regret the fact that I do not have the authority to grant you a higher one." Tadokoro smiled at that, as Soma grinned and took off his bandage.

"Glad you liked it!"

Meanwhile, the two perpetrator's pot was starting to burn up.

"Ah!" The first one cried out as he opened the pot. "Oh no! The sauce is getting burnt!"

"Yabai!" The second one panicked as he accidentally juggled the salt shaker before… it went in…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Chapelle crossed his arms as he had a ticked-off look on his face after tasting the perpetrators' dish. "Rating: E!"

"Doh…" the two students bowed their head in shame as they were on all fours. You know what they saw about karma: Payback is a… well, you know.

* * *

"Huhhhhhhhh… another dish disaster…" Erina sighed as she was in her office after tasting another dish that turned into a mess.

"Erina-sama," Hisako said. Erina turned towards Hisako who opened the door to her office and she was carrying… a silver plate that was covered?

Erina used her right hand to pinch her nose bridge, "Hisako… no more, there's so much I can taste per day."

"This is from Kurogasa." Hisako answered.

Erina's eyes widened as she looked surprised. She then remembered what Kurogasa said at the opening ceremony.

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"I'll make something really good for you next time. So good, even a simple cake will be to your liking."_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

 _'I can't believe he actually kept his promise.'_ Erina thought. Out loud, she said, "…Okay, leave it there and I'll eat it."

"Hai." Hisako blinked before placing the said covered silver platter on her desk. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"No, please take the rest of the day off." Erina said with a smile.

"Hai." Hisako bowed before leaving the room. Once she closed the door properly, Erina looked at the covered plate and opened it, revealing the Cuban Beef Stew with Rice Pilaf that was still warm. Next to the fork, spoon, and knife was a small card that Kurogasa wrote. She picked up the card to read it.

 _'Hope you enjoy it. Kurogasa.'_

Erina looked at the said dish as the steam slowly rose from the heat it was giving off. She then sat down picked up the spoon, scooped a bit of the food, then took a bite of the meal. Once more, the food surprised her. "This flavor… it has the perfect amount of heat and spice. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…" she moaned sensually. "It's almost like I'm in the warm embrace of a forbidden lover."

* * *

 _She then imagined herself as she was in some sort of hispanic town. She was in a town square as she was dressed in a pink hispanic dress, with a flower on the side of her head to accentuate her beauty. She heard hispanic music playing as she saw Kurogasa in matador's clothing as he held out his hand for a dance._

 _She took the hand and Kurogasa spun her around as the drums, guitar and other instruments were playing as they danced energetically. Soon the music started to turn into more slow and almost alluring. Kurogasa had Erina twirl away from him, but their hands still held onto each other, then he pulled her in, having her twirl towards him. Erina raised her left leg up that was exposed from her dress and wrapped it around Kurogasa's thigh, with one of his arms cradling it, while her arms were around him and he pulled her in close as he held her back with his other arm, and the back of her head with his hand, as their foreheads pressed against each other before their faces started to lean and…_

* * *

"KYA!" Erina snapped back into reality as her imagination started getting a little naughty. She also realized that… she was mirroring the dance she was imagining, just without Kurogasa, making her blush heavily. "What… was I doing…? Why am I…" Erina said before she composed herself and sat in her chair ashamed. "I shouldn't have these feelings… I like _him_ … I have to find him one day and tell him how I feel." Erina sighed again, as she wondered why Kurogasa was having such a huge effect on her. "I just hope that this is something else."

* * *

 **Fen:** There you have it! Another chapter down! Erina, you naughty little girl. :D

 **AQ: *rolls eyes*** Perv.

 **Fen:** What are you looking at me like _that_ for?

 **AQ** : No reason, oh well at least my Azure King is coming home soon! Kyaaaaaa! XD

 **Fen:** Oh yeah, you mentioned something about that. Good to have him back, huh?

 **AQ:** Yes! My glorious love and King will return to his faithful Queen! GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

 **Fen:** Uh… right. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! See you on the next Main Course!


	3. Dish 3

**Fen:** Hey guys, Fen and Queen here for the next main course!

 **AQ:** Yo…*In bliss*

 **Fen:** Uh… you okay? o_O?

 **AQ:** Just… high off finally completely my work The Ultimate Darkness…

 **Fen:** I… see… well, anyways, how about we switch gears and go to something you're good at. Food.

 ***DUNNNNN!***

 **AQ:** Something I'm good at? Are you being sexist or saying my stories suck?!

 **Fen:** No, no, of course not!

 **AQ: HENSHIN!** *Transforms into Ultimate Kuuga* Ahhhhh…

 **Fen:** AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

-Five Minutes Later-

 **Fen:** Ow… T_T I'm sorry…

 **AQ:** Be glad I didn't get King to become Eternal. Anyway, yup folks it's time for a new chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

Classes were done for the day and for Kurogasa, it's hanging out with his new friends Ryoko and Yuki. The three of them walked out of the building and into the courtyard of the school. Before Kurogasa went to hanging out with the two girls, he had made a spare plate of the Cuban Beef Stew with Rice Pilaf for Erina to taste. He was a person who would always keep his promise, and that's what he was going to do. It took him a while, but after walking around the school, he eventually found Hisako and asked her to deliver his dish over to Erina. The pink-haired girl was rather surprised that he would want her to give the dish to Erina and was somewhat reluctant, but after Kurogasa telling her that he was one for keeping promises, Hisako eventually agreed to deliver it to Erina.

"Ahhhhhhhh… finally, we got the rest of the day to ourselves." Kurogasa sighed in content, stretching out to loosen up after changing back to his old school uniform while carrying his duffel bag that had all of his clothes after retrieving it from a locker room. As for Yuki and Ryoko, the two of them were wearing their school uniform as well. For those who don't know, the standard school uniform consists of a navy blue blazer that has white borders on its pockets and lapels, and a white collared shirt that is generally worn underneath. The plaid short skirt worn by females are dark and light brown with white outlines, while the pants worn by males are navy blue. They also wear a diagonally striated red violet and blue bow and tie, respectively. Finally, most of the students also wear black loafers with socks or tights. During the summer, students tend to wear the white colored shirts without the blazer.

"Man, your girlfriend either loves you for sending her good food or hates you knowing her impossibly high-standards to make her actually eat them." Yuki teased as the boy blushed.

"O-OI! Erina isn't my girlfriend! I just promised to send her my food so she can enjoy it!" Kurogasa sputtered out.

After the two girls giggled at his overthetop reaction Ryoko looked at Kurogasa, "So where are you crashing tonight?"

"What?" Kurogasa blinked. The girls looked at each other with a worried look.

"You _do_ have a dorm to go to, right?" Yuki asked.

"Uh… actually, no." Kurogasa got out, now realizing it, before he facepalmed. "Ugh… crap, I should've went to the Director's office for a list of dorms I can go to." He said before his jacket let something slip out from his back when he turned around.

"What's this?" Ryoko said seeing an envelope and picking it up. After opening it, she took out a paper of sorts and read it over. "Oh, Kuro, you're staying at _our_ dorm."

"Eh? I'm what?" Kurogasa blinked before seeing the paper and took it and the envelope. "Where did you-"

"It fell from your pocket, silly." Yuki giggled. "We're going to the Polar Star Dormitory."

"How-" Kurogasa was about to say something until he saw the wax seal on the envelope, "Shishou…" Kurogasa groaned after realizing it was his teacher's symbol. "Wait, together… is it a female dorm or something?!" Kurogasa panicked comically.

"No, no!" Yuki said as she calmed down the boy. "It's co-ed, we got too many guys as it is."

"Oh… okay." Kurogasa said after getting his heartbeat back to normal. "Don't scare me like that…"

"There _is_ one thing you have to do though, in order to get in." Ryoko pointed out.

"Eh? You mean like some kind of… initiation…?" Kurogasa gulped.

"Right, and it will be hard but from what I can tell, I think you can do the work." Ryoko said with confidence.

"Really? You think so?" Kurogasa asked shyly.

"Of course, if you could impress Miguel-sensei with that dish you made, then this should be easy too." Ryoko smiled.

"Well… okay then, if you say so." Kurogasa smiled a bit.

"That's the spirit." Ryoko smiled. "Now first, you're gonna need ingredients."

"Huh? Why?" Kurogasa asked.

"Duh, it's how you're gonna get in the dorm." Yuki said matter-of-factly. "You have to cook a dish for the caretaker of the dorm and she'll judge you whether or not you're worthy enough to stay in the dorm."

"Eh? Well sure I can do that, but don't you guys have the basic stuff?" The boy asked the two girls who laughed nervously.

"Uh well… we kinda used the same stuff so we have only have the leftovers from experiments and cooking our own meals." Ryoko said with an embarrassed tone.

"Great… just great…" Kurogasa deadpanned. "Might as well get what I need." He then searched his pockets, but then realized something as well. "Crap… I don't have any money either to buy my ingredients. Ah mou~ what am I gonna do?!" He panicked, tugging on his hair. That was when he noticed another slip of paper dropping out of the envelope, which he noticed before picking it up. It was a letter from him too. The girls looked over his shoulder to read the letter.

"A letter?" Yuki wondered.

"From your Shishou?" Ryoko added.

"Yeah…" He muttered as he read the letter. "Dear Kurogasa, I have added some money from my personal savings to yours to start out with. Spend it wisely. Shishou." He then noticed another paper behind it and flipped over the letter to show that it was a receipt from a bank. The amount his Shishou had given him was…

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix.  
 **(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy.  
 **(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them.  
 **(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background.  
 **(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot.  
 **(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give up and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures.  
 **(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 3:** Light Ramen Noodle Soup

Kurogasa groaned as he walked away from the ATM. Apparently, his Shishou had given him five million yen. That's equivalent to roughly fifty-thousand U.S. Dollars. And just now, he took out fifty-thousand yen from his account and now was left with four million five-hundred thousand yen. Sure, he was grateful to his Shishou for the money, but… this was a little much.

"I can't belive this… what the heck was Shishou doing to earn that much money?" Kurogasa muttered to himself. "I mean I get it, he's a great chef and he's probably worked in many restaurants, but holy cow, there's just no way that he would earn that much money. This is "some" of his personal savings?"

After walking for a few more minutes, he finally arrived at the student supermarket. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Yuki and Ryoko had already went on ahead to the Polar Star Dormitory. They would meet up with him over there as soon as he was done with getting ingredients for his initiation to stay there. Entering the store, he walked around finding the ingredients he would made. As he walked, he was thinking about what to make for the caretaker. He really wanted to make an impression on the person. It had to be something that would really knock their socks off. However, he remembered what his Shishou had told him.

 _'Obaachan ga iteita: Fancy flavors cannot hide poor cooking and fancy food does not taste good. No matter what truth you try to hide, you cannot hide it.'_

Kurogasa knew his Shishou was right. When cooking and presenting a dish to someone, they are practically presenting themselves to that said person. It shows who they really are, and for him, Kurogasa was one that reflects honesty, humility, and truthfulness. And he wasn't going to back on what he pstands for.

"Hmmmmm… maybe something light…" Kurogasa pondered to himself. He thought about it more before a light bulb lit up in his head. "Aha! I know just what to make." He said before he set to get the ingredients. What he was going to make was a Light Ramen Noodle Soup; a soup that is not heavy for the person when eating it, and it will certainly be filling. The main ingredients he would need are green onion, chicken thigh, garlic, ginger, salt, sesame oil. For seasoning he would need soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar. For toppings he would need Narutomaki, Konegi onion, pickled ginger, and eggs. And he would need ingredients for making the noodles from scratch. It was certainly a lot better than being bought at a store, because it'll show how much effort he would put into making it.

And so with a shopping cart in hand, he set out to find everything he needed. The student supermarket really had it all. They had the finest, freshest, and top-quality ingredients he could buy. Just the mere act of buying these premium ingredients almost feels sinful. But, these ingredients were here for a reason so that the students could use them for their dishes.

"Yosh, almost done…" He muttered to himself as he turned the corner of an aisle when-

*BUMP!*

"Ite!" A girl's voice said.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't see… you…" He trailed off when his eyes made contact with… "E-Erina?"

"Y-You! Kurogasa!" Erina pointed out.

"What are you doing here?" Kurogasa asked rather surprised.

"I-I should be asking _you_ that." Erina replied.

"Uh… I was getting some ingredients… for a dish I'm about to make. It's for my… initiation at the Polar Star Dormitory." Kurogasa explained.

"I see." Erina got out.

"What about you?"

"I'm… here to get new ingredients too…" Erina answered. The two of them were having the same awkward silence during the opening ceremony. It wasn't until that she decided to break it after that moment. "By the way… that dish you sent me…"

"Huh?" Kurogasa blinked, before remembering. "Oh, you mean the Cuban Beef Stew with the Rice Pilaf."

"Yes. it was… acceptable to my palate." Erina said with a noticeable blush as she looked away.

Kurogasa looked a bit flabbergasted. "R-Really?"

She glared at him as if he talked smack about her mother, "Of course! Don't make me repeat myself!"

"G-Gomen, gomen!" Kurogasa said, waving his hands frantically. "I was just… surprised, that's all."

"Even _I_ can pay respect when it's due." Erina said with a noble tone as she flicked her hair to the side.

"…" Kurogasa blinked at how she did it. _'The way she flicked her hair… she's just like…'_

"W-What is it? Is there something on my face?" Erina said slightly put off on how he was staring at her with so much focus.

"Sorry," Kurogasa shook his head. "Spaced out for a moment… I was… you reminded me of someone who used to do that…"

"I assure you that we've never met before." Erina said with sharp cold eyes.

"Uh… right." Kurogasa said a bit awkwardly.

"Also… I want to repay you for all the meals you made for me."

"How?"

"Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

"No, not really. Why do you ask?"

"I wish to show you my skills in a Shokugeki." Erina said with a light smile on her face.

"Shoku… geki?" Kurogasa tilted his head confused.

"You don't know what a Shokugeki is?" Erina asked a bit incredulous. Kurogasa shook his head. Erina sighed, "Very well, I suppose I'll have to tell you. Walk with me." She said, before Kurogasa walked alongside as they were getting ingredients. "A Shokugeki can be initiated by anyone within the school. They are battled between two parties and each side must lay out their "compensation", or something they must give up if they were to lose the challenge. Both sides must agree that the compensation of the duel equate with each other. There are three main conditions to issue a Shokugeki: An authorized individual to validate the Shokugeki, an odd number of judges to prevent a Shokugeki from having a tie as much as possible while being a neutral party to promote fairness in the judgement of dishes, and both parties mutually agreeing to have the Shokugeki and the conditions of the Shokugeki. If one side is unwilling to participate, the challenge is not feasible."

"Okay." Kurogasa nodded as he picked up a bottle of sake.

"Both parties will establish a date and a theme for the match. A request is then sent to the Shokugeki Board for approval. Once authorized, any time between the issue and the Shokugeki may be used to prepare for it. On the day of the challenge, both contestants will cook at the same time in a fixed amount of time. Both parties must provide their own ingredients and appliances they need to cook their dish. After both sides have finished their dish, they will present their Shokugeki dish to the judges."

"So, both people will have to watch their own budget and buy their own ingredients." Kurogasa guessed as Erina placed an ingredient in her shopping basket.

"Exactly." Erina nodded. "In judging, there are several winning factors for the dish, but the four core traits in a dish are aroma, taste, presentation, and impact. After tasting both dishes, the judges will choose which dish they felt was better by writing their names down. Whoever receives the most amount of votes from the judges wins the match. Despite the fact that a Shokugeki has an odd number of judges to ensure that a match does not end in a tie, a judge does not have to choose a clear winner if they feel that both parties did equally well in the match, meaning that a duel can be ruled a tie if they are unable to choose a victor by the end of the judging time. If such a case happens, another Shokugeki will be set up for a later date. And once all votes have been tallied and a clear victor is declared, the winner will have all conditions of their victory immediately fulfilled and the result cannot be revoked."

"Huh… okay," Kurogasa pondered. "That was… very informative. And you're having one of these Shokugekis?"

"Yes, on the weekend. And I'm inviting you to witness it." Erina said, before she frowned. "But don't get the wrong idea. I'm only doing this, because you've presented me acceptable dishes."

"Uh, right… I'd be glad to take up your offer." Kurogasa smiled a bit.

"Hmph, I look forward to it," Erina smirked before she turned around and flicked her hair as she walked away. "Gokigenyou."

Kurogasa stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. "Okay, gotta find the rest of the stuff." He said, focusing before going back to shopping. _'That Erina sure is something…'_

* * *

After paying for the ingredients, and carrying about four bags of ingredients, two in each hand, along with his duffel bag slung around him, Kurogasa walked on his way over to the Polar Star Dormitory. However… this turned to be a lot more difficult because it was a very long walk.

"Man, just how long is it towards the dorm?" Kurogasa gritted as he was struggling carrying all of his stuff. "Seriously, this is ridiculous…!" he then looked around with his surroundings and noticed a lot of large buildings. "Hehhhhhh… I guess that's to be expected. It's a rich school, there's so many large important buildings here, and all the facilities are top-notch…" He sighed, before he pondered on something. "Hm… maybe the Polar Star Dormitory won't be so bad. I guess it's worth the walk."

After a few more minutes, he managed to finally arrive at the said dorm which was strangely in the middle of a forest. However…

 ***CAW CAW CAW!***

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Kurogasa muttered with a twitching eye as he took in the detail of the said building. It was nearly the size of a mansion as it was covered here and there in english ivy, in front of the trio was a metal gate. Normally in the day it might look majestic… but in the sunset it had an ominous feeling to it, due to the crows gathering around and the sunset casting a dark shadow from behind the building. "This is where I'm going to stay…?"

He gulped audibly. This looked to be more a haunted mansion rather than an actual dorm. Not to mention that he was starting to have second thoughts about it too. But then he shook his head. He wasn't to let some pseudo-haunted mansion get to him. He's gonna have to brave it out whether he liked it or not. "Well, nothing like the present." He said before he steeled himself to open the gates and walk towards the door.

 ***CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK!***

Kurogasa slowly opened the door and walked in… and the instant feeling he got from it was creepy and dank. The inside of the dorm really _was_ like a haunted house. There was the foyer of course, and a main stairwell that went up the upper floor and it separated into two paths that led to another flight of stairs which led to separate hallways on the left and right. There was also a grandfather clock to the side and there was pipes against the top of the walls, the ends of them having lids that were either opened or closed. There was a coffee table and a few couches to the side as well.

"Oh man, this is getting really creepy…" He sweated.

 ***SMASH! THUD!***

"GAH!" He yelled when a loud smash was heard followed by a loud thud. He then looked up large cloud of smoke seeping through the railing and onto the floor, being under his legs. "AhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHh…" He paled, shaking badly. "This place _is_ haunted!"

 ***RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE!***

Kurogasa felt the rumbling and shaking as he turned around to see… three boar piglets, a rabbit, three ducks, a goose, and a deer?! And they're all stampeding towards him?!

"What the heck?!" Kurogasa panicked as he managed to get out of the way as the animals ran down into a hall.

"AH GUYS DON'T LEAVE ME!" A familiar person shouted as she was wearing a green blouse over her pink and white shirt while wearing purple shorts and white sneakers and she was chasing after the rumbling that made her run in the darkness.

"Yuki?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"Usako! Kamosuke! Shikanoshin! Don't leave me!" Yuki yelled.

"ARA! Room 116! Don't you dare let game animals into your room! If you do it again, I'll flay you alive!" An old woman's voice came from the pipes.

"Sumimasen!" Yuki apologized.

"And Room 208! You turned an empty room into a smoker again without my permission didn't you?! You want me to string you up above some smoke chips?!"

"Hai, hai, I'm deeply sorry~…" a quiet and lazy voice said.

"And Room 205! If the floor falls out, I'll punch a hole in your gut!"

"We'll be more careful next time! It's just that these two idiots are fighting!" an annoyed male's voice added as Kurogasa heard two other men fighting for some reason.

"What on earth is going on here…?" Kurogasa muttered.

"So… you're Kurogasa Kururugi, the other transfer student who wants to live here."

"Gh!" Kurogasa flinched before slowly turning around, ratcheting as he saw an old lady with features corresponding to her age. She wore a headband with her spiky gray hair combed backwards and she wore a plain yellow dress with a brown apron and brown slippers. _'She must be the caretaker…! But she looks so scary!'_

"I'm the caretaker of the Polar Star Dormitory. Fumio Daimidō." She introduced. "A.k.a, Fumio-san, Madonna of the Polar Star. That's what you're to call me."

"H-Hai… y-yoroshiku onegaishimasu…" Kurogasa bowed shakily.

"So what did you bring by way of ingredients?" Fumio asked.

"A-Ah, that's right. The initiation test…" Kurogasa got out as he managed to put down his stuff and show a couple of bags. "Here."

Fumio examined the ingredients that were in the bag. "And what do you plan to make for me?"

"Light Ramen Noodle Soup." Kurogasa answered.

"Hmmmm… a good choice since its nighttime and I want to eat something light rather than a heavy meal." The old woman nodded to Kurogasa's choice. "But… just because you chose a sensible dish doesn't mean squat until I taste it!"

"Hai. Wakarimashita." Kurogasa nodded in understanding. "Can you please show me to your kitchen madam?"

"Follow me," Fumio said before walking with Kurogasa, following her. "You're lucky that you did some shopping. We had one more test taker here and used up everything that was good to use." The woman said smiling, "That kid reminds me of someone."

"I see. Wait did this kid had red spiky hair and a scar on his left eyebrow?"

"Yes, Soma Yukihira… do you know him by chance?" Fumio asked with a raise eyebrow.

"He's actually a friend of mine. I'm surprised he didn't make any one of his outliers, otherwise I'd have to throw it out the window."

"I see… well-"

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!"

"Oops… forgot to tell him that it was the women's turn to bathe at this time."

"Dang it Soma…" Kurogasa gritted with furrowed deadpanned eyes.

"Now then here's the kitchen." The woman of the huge house said before kicking the door open.

"Whoa… sugei na… a lot more cleaner than I expected, unlike the outside. I'm gonna have to clear out those ivy when I get the chance." Kurogasa said impressed as he took a look at the spacious kitchen.

"Heh, if you actually do, it I'll let you have some space in the backyard to do what you want." Fumio laughed at that.

"I might take up on your offer." Kurogasa smiled a bit.

"*CLAP* Okay enough talk, time to cook!"

"Yes ma'am!" Kurogasa grinned as he setted up the things he needed. "Shishou ga iteita: A cuisine's flavor is decided by preparation and performance. Its the same with battle." He uttered to himself.

"Hm?" Fumio raised an eyebrow. _'That sounds… familiar…'_

First, Kurogasa had to make the noodles. So taking out the first ingredients, he had milk, eggs, and flour. After washing his hands, he mixed ingredients into a sublimed uniformed dough that they will be mixed evenly. Next he had to knead the dough, to give the noodles a very firm texture when they're pulled. After kneading the dough for five minutes, he stretched it out and gave them a good pull, twirling and spiraling repeatedly until the thickness of the noodles were perfect in consistency and thickness as it sparkled.

 ***BOING!***

"!" Fumio eyes widened as she saw the boy handmade noodle dough quickly floured then started to pull thinly. "Amazing, and in such small amount of time!"

Kurogasa then set the noodles down on the table to let it rest.

He then poured five cups of water into a pot and added green onion, ginger, and garlic. He then waited until he brought it to a boil. Once they were boiled enough, he reduced the heat to low.

He then added the 200 grams of chicken thigh and let it simmer for eight minutes. After that, he took out the cooked chicken and wrapped it in aluminum foil. Then he went back to having the pot simmer for three minutes while skimming the foam with a strainer and kept doing so until there was no more foam. Once the soup is crystal clear, he took out the veggies to put in a bowl.

"I could see how clear the soup is already." Fumio added.

For the next step, he added a teaspoon of salt and sesame oil for taste then opened up the foil to show that juices were coming from the chicken and he added the juice from the chicken to the soup. Then he cut the chicken in slices and place them in a heat resisting plate. For his seasoning, he mixed 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, sake, mirin, and a teaspoon of sugar and he minced the garlic and ginger he used earlier for seasoning of the chicken. Once they were mixed well, he poured the season and coated the chicken evenly. Then he places the heat resisting plate in the oven at 360° for 20 minutes.

While waiting for that, he started back on the noodles, he cut them just enough so it would serve two people. He placed the two batches of noodles in another pot of water and let it boil for three to four minutes. After that was done, he drained the noodles well. He then proceeded to boil two eggs for about six minutes before peeling off the shells and cutting both of them in half. After that, he sliced up some Narutomaki and the green onions he used earlier into thin slices.

 ***DING!***

"Ah, they're done." Kurogasa smiled before taking the chicken out of the oven. After that, he poured the soup into two bowls, then added the noodles, the chicken, then the half-boiled eggs, Narutomaki, and the sliced green onions.

"Here you go." Kurogasa smiled presenting a bowl. "Light Ramen Noodle Soup."

Fumio looked at the bowl and inspected it with a careful look, "The broth is light like the name implies, yet I can smell the flavors so well."

"Trust me, it's light but hits with big flavor." Kurogasa grinned.

"We'll see about that." Fumio said before taking out a pair of chopsticks. She then swindled the noodles into the broth before picking it up and placed it in her mouth.

 ***SLURP!***

"This is…!" The old woman started with shocked wide eyes. "The flavor itself is so light and distant but enough to keep making me want to devour it!" The woman yelled enjoying the noodles with a light blush, "The noodles are so perfect, it's the very meaning of the word al dente!"

"I take it you like it." Kurogasa chuckled before he slurped down his own noodles.

"Everything else is perfect and has no flaws… you pass!" Fumia said with a grin and passed a key to Kurogasa. "Here's your room, the number is on the key."

"Room 111, got it." Kurogasa grinned taking the key, before shoveling down the rest of the noodle dish. "Ahhhhh… gochisosama! Arigatou!" He grinned before running off with his duffel bag in tow.

"Mattaku… another interesting one to add to the dorm." Fumio mused to herself with a smirk. "Maybe the former owner of that room's luck will rub off on him…" The woman smiled motherly looking at photo on the wall to show someone Kurogasa is very familiar with, along with nine other students.

* * *

"Alright, Room 111… Room 111…" Kurogasa muttered as he went down the hallway and found the said room. "Aha, here we are." He smiled before opening it with the key and went in. "Huh… very quaint…" He commented as he placed the duffel bag down to the side and plopped down on the bed. "Phew… what a long day…" He then looked up to the ceiling. "It feels weird being away from home…"

"Ara, Kurogasa?"

Kurogasa sat up to see… "Ryoko?" She wore a lavender sweater over her black shirt with pale green pants and black loafers.

"It looks like you made it." She smiled as she came in.

"Yeah. And I take it we're next door neighbors?" Kurogasa smiled sheepishly.

"Yes, it looks like it. Hmhmhm, don't take anything from my roo~m!" The girl teased walking away with a wink.

"O-Oi! I'm not a pervert!" Kurogasa blushed. "I've been taught to respect women!"

"Learn to take a joke!" The girl giggled as she got her friend again. "Anyways, come up to the second floor, Room 205. We're having a welcoming party."

"Eh? Welcoming party?" Kurogasa blinked before he smiled and immediately got off the bed. "Count me in!"

* * *

"That was one of the most delicious cookies I have ever eaten!" Fumio said as Beatrix smiled behind a fan she held to her mouth.

"Thank you…" Beatrix nodded. "That recipe was my mother's, until I changed many keynotes to it to make my own orchestra of victory."

"Congrats Be!" Shiki said as he was sitting on a chair raising a shot glass full of whiskey, "You're in too!"

"Here are you two's keys! Room 213 for Beatrix and Room 214 for Shiki."

"Thanks!" Shiki grinned.

"Ah, right. There's a welcoming party in Room 205. You should greet your fellow doormates." Fumio said.

"We will." Beatrix nodded before the two left the kitchen.

* * *

Kurogasa looks at the door with Ryoko holding a large bottle in her hands. "So… we're going enter someone else's room?"

"It will be fine." Ryoko smiled.

"I hope that bottle isn't what I think it is. I already got one underaged drinking bastard already…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Hey! Who called me that?!"

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked before turning to see two familiar people walking up to the floor. "Shiki?! Beatrix?!"

"WOOOOOO!" Shiki said dashing forward and jumped into a kicking motion directed at Kurogasa.

"Wait!"

"WACHAAAAAA!"

Kurogasa suddenly grabbed Ryoko in his arms into a bridal style hold and jumped over Shiki's kick as he broke the door and entered the room!

"O-RE~ SANJOU~!" Shiki declared.

"AHHHHH! My door!" A boy cried out. He has short rainy black hair and black eyes. He has poor eyesight so he wears glasses to fix this. As of now, he was wearing a light brown shirt with a tan stripe over his waist while wearing green pants. This was Marui Zenji.

"Oi, Ko-ra!" Another teen yelled. He had spiky black hair with long sideburns and he also has tan skin and a well built body dressed in a simple white undershirt. This was Daigo Aoki.

"What was that for?!" Another added. He had dirty blond hair that is cut at a semi-mohawk style, with the edges having a darker color. He often wears a sweater or long sleeved shirts. His name is Shōji Sato.

"You want some man!?" Shiki yelled, "Alright fine! First you, then the Rice Bastard!"

"BRING IT ON!"

"Oh man, this is turning to be chaos already…" Kurogasa muttered with a sweat drop.

"Kurogasa… how long are you going to hold me?" Ryoko asked, slightly blushing.

"Eh? Ah! Suman!" Kurogasa panicked, before gently letting her down. "It was… the heat of the moment…"

"Right, heat of the moment." Ryoko giggled before going in, with Kurogasa following.

"Huh? Ah, Megumi-chan. You're here too?" Kurogasa noticed.

"Oh Kurogasa-san!" The blue haired girl said in surprise.

"HELLLO~!" Beatrix sat next to the meek girl rubbing her shoulders already. "I don't believe we me~t!"

"Huh?" Megumi got out, startled.

"Oi, hands off her." Kurogasa pouted, placing her immediately away from Megumi before sitting next to the latter. "Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…" He stared at her, with complete sound effect.

"Oh come on, not one night?" The girl pouted at the boy.

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't roll that way…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Ohh… you have no idea how many girls said that before I made them join the other side." The Sweets expert stuck her tongue at Kurogasa before using it lightly trailing on the small girl's neck. "Would you like if Onee-sama taught you that?"

"Yada!" Megumi squeaked, hiding behind Kurogasa.

"Mou… I promise to be gentle… until you want me to make you scream." Beatrix said with a perverse giggle.

"YADA, YADA, YADA!"

"Oi, Bebe, enough." Shiki frowned. "If she doesn't want to… explore that side of romance you speak of, then back off. Besides, you're just breaking it off after getting another cute girl like this morning."

"Say wha?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"Oh yeah, twins, so two on her first day." Shiki said showing Kurogasa a pic from his cell. "See? Just mind the-"

"Yeah, I'll take your word for it." Kurogasa muttered before seeing a familiar red-haired boy. "Well, hello to you, Soma. Managed to scrape by somehow, huh? I'm surprised you didn't give Fumio-san another one of your outliers…"

"Hehe, well I decided that my cooking should speak for itself, didn't want a repeat with Nakiri ya'know?" The boy chuckled. "Besides seeing anyone's face after tasting my food is better than talking."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"C'mon just a ta~ste!" Beatrix whine as Shiki used his body to block the girl from getting closer to Megumi.

"They're having fun." Soma laughed at the scene.

"But the not kind of fun you're thinking of." Another boy said. He has medium, unkempt auburn hair and his bangs are especially long, hiding his eyes, which were not visible. He wore a forest green turtleneck sweater with grey pants and green slippers. This was Shun Ibusaki.

"Well, it seems we have four new students coming into our dorm." Another boy said. He was a year older than the others having curly, medium-length brown hair and a well built body and has cyan blue eyes. He was wearing a tan collared dress shirt with a pink apron over it while wearing blue jeans. "Yoroshiku ne, I'm Isshiki, a second-year. You can call me Isshiki-senpai." He greeted extending a hand towards Soma and shook it before he shook Kurogasa's hand. "Welcome to the Polar Star Dormitory. We're glad to have you all."

"…Wait… Isshiki…?" Beatrix said forgetting altogether about Megumi. "I swear that sounds familiar."

"Doesn't ring a bell." Shiki shrugged.

"In any case, we're glad to be here." Kurogasa smiled.

"By the way, why are we all having it here in my room? I'm studying for the written exam!" Marui protested.

"What choice do we have? It's the biggest room and it's clean too." Yuki answered.

"That… and I have enough eye candy." Beatrix purred moving towards Yuki.

"O-Oi, nani o?"

"Mattaku… that's it." Shiki said, before he pulled out a chair and duct tape from hammer space behind his back and had Beatrix sit down and wrapped her up with a duct tape to the chair.

"Hey! No fair!"

"You need to learn some restraint." Shiki frowned.

"NEVER~! Let me go!" The girl shouted as she struggled to break her jail. "GA, GA, GA, GA, GA ,GA~!" The girl shouted before the boy rolled his eyes and duct taped her mouth. "MMMMMMMMMM! MMMMMM! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"

"So…" Kurogasa said to Megumi. "I take it things have been going well for you?"

"Y-Yeah…" The girl looked at Shiki who was drinking from his flask.

"And you didn't run into any trouble?"

"Uh no, I didn't." She absentmindedly said still looking at the direction of the boy.

"Well, that's good to hear." Kurogasa smiled, but noticed Megumi looking at Shiki. "Never knew you're going for a boyfriend already." He teased.

"EH!? N-N-NO! I wasn't trying to think of him like that!" The girl said blushing red.

"Hahahaha! I'm joking! Relax!" Kurogasa laughed before patting her head. "Loosen up a bit. You're with friends."

"…If you want to… go ahead." Beatrix said sitting next to Megumi with a serious look. "But you break his heart… I'll break you…" The girl said in a dark whisper.

"What the- how did you get out of your prison?!" Kurogasa gawked surprised.

"Tch, I escaped from real prison a few times, ain't nothing going to cage this." The girl smirks. "But I'm serious… break his heart… and you'll lose fingers." Beatrix said looking at Megumi.

"H-Huh?" Megumi shook badly.

"Oi, be nice to her." Kurogasa frowned.

"What the-?! Be nice to the girl!" Shiki turned his head as he stopped talking to Yuki.

"I wasn't~! I was trying to get laid!" Beatrix waved her hand cutely, before sending a dark smirk at the shorter girl. "Remember~" She said before sitting next to Ryoko and started to rub her shoulders. "Hey there, cutie."

 ***SLAP!***

"Hands off." Ryoko slapped her hand away from her.

"Come on~, not one girl?!" The sweets master groans.

"Hahahaha… it's so lively." Isshiki chuckled lightly as he stood up. "Saa te, let's have ourselves a toast." He said, raising his plastic cup of rice juice as did everyone else. "To the future of our four new dorm mates and the glory of the Polar Star Dormitory! Kampai!"

"Kampai!" Everyone else raised their cups.

* * *

And so the night went on, and everyone was having fun and laughing. There were a few quirks here and there, such as Daigo and Shoji getting into their fights with Marui trying to keep his room organized. There was even Isshiki… in his naked apron get-up, which disturbed Kurogasa a bit, but tolerated it. Of course, Soma had his dorm mates try another one of his outliers, making Kurogasa throw it out the window. And there was Shiki drinking a flask of alcohol and Kurogasa had to throw that out the window too, causing them to be in a comical fight.

However, after all the fun is said and done, everyone was out like a light. Well… except for Soma, Isshiki, and Kurogasa.

"Oh boy, that was chaotic…" Kurogasa sighed to himself, sitting down Indian style.

"But it sure was a lot of fun." Soma pointed out.

"No… no… I swear this is my first time… hehehehe… yeah slowly…" Beatrix talked in her sleep with a nosebleed soon following after her sentence.

"Be… not cool…" Shiki said in his sleep as well while trying to find the closest warm thing he could find… which was Megumi. "Mmh… so warm and sweet…"

"Again, you two and the others are very welcomed here." Isshiki smiled. "Oh, we're all out of food. I have some filleted Spanish mackerel." He said, as he stood up and walked away with a wiggle. "I'll go make some."

"You're going to cook in that?" Soma sweat dropped.

"Just… leave him alone with his preferences…" Kurogasa muttered.

 ***RING, RING!***

"Hmm… oh Shishou." Kurogasa said, before answering his cell phone. "Moushimoushi."

[ _"Hello, did the flowers work?"_ ]

"Ah… yeah, it did." Kurogasa blinked. "She took them."

[ _"Good to hear. Where are you staying at?"_ ]

"The Polar Star Dormitory, Room 111."

[ _"Hmhmhmhmhm…"_ ]

"What is it?"

[ _"Nothing. Anyways, I'm glad to see or rather hear, that you're walking the path of Heaven. Good luck my student, and I pray you find your friend."_ ]

"Ah, thanks." Kurogasa blinked before the line was cut off.

"Your shishou?" Soma asked.

"Yeah, he was just checking up on me." Kurogasa said.

A few minutes later, Isshiki came back into the room with two dishes. "Here you go. Dig in." He smiled as he sat down and presented the dishes. "Spanish Mackerel with Chinese Pepper and puree."

"It certainly looks good." Kurogasa smiled a bit, taking his chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu!" Soma grinned doing the same. Both chefs then took a piece of their fishes from their chopsticks and placed them in their mouths.

"!" Both boys' eyes widened as they tasted the fish and were suddenly imagining themselves in some forest. The cherry blossoms blew way past them at a huge force as they were surrounded by flowers.

 _'W-What is this?!'_ Kurogasa yelled out in his thoughts. _'The mackerel is grilled to delicate perfection. And the puree… tastes like spring cabbage. Its mild smooth sweetness complements well with the mackerel and heightens each other's flavor!'_

 _'It's heavenly!'_ Soma thought. _'This dish maximizes the seasonal ingredients of spring. How could he put together such a delicate dish in so little time?! He's head and shoulders above all the other students in this dorm! And he's just a second-year!'_

"By the way…" Isshiki murmured rather strangely as both boys looked at him, his head bowed down with the bangs of his hair covering his eyes. "Soma-kun, you said some rather interesting things at the opening ceremony. Gunning for number one at Tōtsuki might not be as easy as you think."

"S-Senpai…?" Kurogasa got out, rather unnerved by his sudden personality turning 180.

"Allow me to re-introduce myself…" Isshiki said before lifting his head, showing them his cunning eyes.

"Tōtsuki Jyukketsu…"

 **遠月十傑**  
Tōtsuki Elite Ten Council

 ***CLAP, CLAP!***

"Dai Nanaseki… Isshiki Satoshi…"

 **第七席: 一色 慧**  
Number 7: Isshiki Satoshi

 ***GONG!***

"You're… one of the Elite Ten?" Soma said, surprised. "That's why Beatrix thought your name was bugging her." Soma said as he look at the seventh of the Ten Council.

"N-Number… s-seven…?" Kurogasa stuttered as his breathing was a bit labored and he was sweating profusely, feeling his cunning aura. The look in Isshiki's eye told him that behind that silly personality was someone he should not mess with.

"Don't worry Kurogasa-kun, this test is only for Soma today." The older boy smiled at the frightened lad.

"!" Kurogasa seemed to snap out of it before saying, "E-Excuse me…" He got out, before quickly leaving the room.

"You scared him off…" Soma grimaced.

"Oh dear, perhaps I was coming on a little strong… but what about you Soma-kun? Are you up for the challenge?"

"Heh," Soma grinned as he got up and took off the bandage from his wrist. "Hang onto your seat!"

"Very well. Let's see what kind of narrative you will create on your plate." Isshiki smirked.

* * *

Kurogasa was out in the hallway, sitting against the hallway as he was panting heavily before he dialed up a number.

[ _"Kurogasa?"_ ]

"S-Shishou… I… I…"

[ _"What's wrong? Your voice is shaking."_ ]

"I just… met a member of the Elite Ten Council…!"

[ _"I see… don't let them intimidate you. Remember you're my student. You take them on by yourself."_ ]

"But… his Aura… it was almost like… _his_."

[ _"_ … _Then retreat for now and get your bearings together. Once you feel more confident, you can go back for your match."_ ]

"H-Hai…" And with that, he hung up. Right now, he needed to calm down and get his bearings like his Shishou had told him.

* * *

"Mmmmmm…" Yuki groaned as she woke up. "Oh man… I guess I passed out."

"Oh no, I drank too much rice juice!" Ryoko got out as she woke up too. "Hm? Who's cooking?"

"Yukihira." Shun answered. "Apparently, he and him are having a cook-off."

"Really? Why?" Yuki asked excitedly.

"I have no idea, but it was Isshiki-senpai that started it." Shun answered as the three were watching Soma cook in the mini kitchen that was adjacent to the room while Isshiki sat there on the floor as he watched as well.

"Are we just going to watch and let Isshiki-senpai's pass without comment?" Yuki asked.

"It's best not to interfere with the cook-off." Ryoko answered.

"Yeah, you're right…" Yuki replied. After a few more minutes, Soma had finished cooking his dishes and he made four for Isshiki, Ryoko, Yuki, and Shun.

"All done! Yukihira's secret menu item number, 20 revised!" Soma declared as he presented the dish. "Tea over a mackerel rice ball!"

"Whoa… it looks good…" Yuki said.

"Normally, it's used with salmon, but I changed the menu to accommodate mackerel. I made enough for everyone, so you can all dig in." Soma explained.

"What did you pour over the rice?" Ryoko asked as she took her bowl.

"It's salted kelp tea." Soma answered. "Its mild saltiness and depth of flavor are a perfect way to wrap up a feast."

"Mou, how can my appetite say no when served something like this?" Yuki said excited.

"Yeah…" Shun added as they both picked up their bowls while Isshiki examined his bowl.

 _'But this is so pedestrian. This dish practically screams that it's a dish meant to be served in a diner for the en masses. But perhaps…'_ Isshiki thought. All of them then took their a bite of their respective dishes and their eyes widened at the taste of it. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmm… Ummai!" He cried out happily.

"The mackerel is really juicy!" Yuki commented. "And the skin's brittle texture is superb! The umami just gushes out with every bite!"

"You can't get this mouthfeel from just grilling the fish." Ryoko added. "How did he-"

"Poêlé." Isshiki answered, making them turn to him. "He grilled this fish using the poêlé method, which is a cooking technique in French cuisine, a type of saute. Basically, you pour the hot olive oil over the fish to ensure even browning. Tell me, Soma-kun. How did you come to know a French cooking method?"

"I learned it from my old man." Soma answered. "He said it's the best way to make fish crispy. You can eat it all crunchy with rice, or enjoy a slightly different texture altogether by softening it a little in salt kelp tea."

"Your father looked how to cook French cuisine?" Isshiki asked.

"Uh, actually, I'm not sure. He went around cooking in a lot of different countries." Soma explained, waving it off.

"I see…" Isshiki said, as he looked back down at the dish. _'I never thought he would make rice ball ingredients using a French technique. His cooking isn't bound by culinary traditions or genres. How liberated! And the poêle method is suited for ingredients with a thick skin. Salmon and Spanish mackerel are a perfect fit. Soma kuun determined its potential in an instant and rearranged the menu.'_ He then stirred the tea while examining the rice. _'The radiant rice is pristine like white snow… through the Spanish mackerel bursts, as though it symbolizes the vitality of spring itself. He's expressed the very moment spring begins in this dish.'_

Soon all of the people eating his dish quickly eat the rest as they all sighed from the delicious meal, as they image the first day of spring arriving and melting the cold snow. "How beautiful… It was a beautiful thaw Soma-kun!" Isshiki can only say with tears running down his face.

Soma smiles as he rub his nose, "Yours was great too, senpai." He said before the two shook hands.

At that point, Megumi slowly woke up and noticed the rather… eccentric scene, of Soma and Isshiki shaking hands while the latter sparkled and shed tears. _'What… what's going on?'_ She wondered. She then noticed that she was wrapped around by someone and turned to see… Shiki? "Eeeeeeek!"

 ***SLAP!***

"Ow! What the- who slapped me?!" Shiki snapped as he looked around and saw a shaking Megumi. "Oh crap… I'm sorry!"

"I-I-I-It's okay, j-just don't do it again…" Megumi stuttered.

"Y-Yeah, I won't." The boy said also stuttering to a lesser extent.

"Oi Marui, wake up! Marui!" Yuki called out, tapping his head but no response. "He's out cold."

"Well better get going then." Shoji said as he headed for the door.

"We'll clean up next time." Daigo said as he left as did the rest except for Soma and Isshiki, the latter putting a blanket over Marui.

"Thanks to this welcoming party, you're officially part of Polar Star. If you have any questions, feel free to ask." Isshiki said.

"Right. There's one thing first and foremost. You might want to apologize to Kurogasa when you get a chance." Soma said.

"I will," Isshiki promised, "I didn't think that he was so frightened to know my talents were at the Elite Ten."

"Well the thing is… this might sound crazy but… he told me one time that he has some kind of sixth sense. Like he knows when he feels something bad." Soma said with a pondering look, but he was unsure.

"I see… odd, but I can understand why he left." Isshiki nodded to himself, realizing that Kurogasa can feel the presence of power and mistook his own as sign of a bad omen. "Don't worry, I have something planned tomorrow."

"Right. Thank you. I'm sure he would appreciate it." Soma nodded. "Well, time to turn in. Later." He waved before walking out of the room.

* * *

Later that night…

Kurogasa was sleeping in his room, although it was a little bit hot, so he left the door open slightly so that the heat could air out. However, he was not sleeping peacefully. He kept tossing and turning in bed as he was sweating profusely.

* * *

 _"LET ME IN! I want to see her!" Kurogasa begged. "Why can't I see her?!"_

 _A man wearing a dark black suit was in front of him. Even though he had a friendly smile… Kurogasa can see nothing but a terrifying monster._

 _He had slick black hair with a streak of white hair swept into the back. He was pale-skinned with black eyes and had a notably grim looking face despite him smiling and his outfit is predominantly black, consisting of a trench coat, vest, undershirt, leather gloves, slacks, and shoes. His tie is silver in color._

 _"My daughter has no need for the likes of you, anymore. Please never come back here again." The man patted the young boy's head._

 _"LIAR! She liked my cake! Why are you kicking me out because she tasted a cake that I made and she liked?!" Kurogasa snapped, tears streaming down his eyes._

 _"…Because she's my way of creating the perfect world of culinary progress. You will_ never _understand the ability she has. I don't want her to be soiled by your horrible food."_

 _*POW!*_

 _"GAH!" Kurogasa cried out as the girl's father kicked him away in the gut making him roll to the ground before he stopped._

 _"Now run along, boy. The next time you come here, I will use permanent measures. The reason you're alive now is because I am slightly pleased to see my daughter happy." The man chuckled darkly before he closed the door. The boy then managed to get up and ran to get to the door but it was all for naught as it was locked._

 _"NA-CHAN! NA-CHAN!" Kurogasa cried as he banged on the door while the clouds darkened the sky and rain fell. "Let me in! I want to see Na-chan! Let me see her!" He yelled, but it was no use._

 _"NA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"_

* * *

"NA-CHAN!" Kurogasa yelled as his eyes widened before he jolted upright sitting on his bed. Once again, his heart was beating rapidly like someone was flattening it with a hammer, he was panting heavily like he had tasted the spiciest food known to man, ice cold sweat fell from his face like an ice cube melting, and he was overcome with exhaustion like he had went through a rush hour of cooking. "That dream… that dream again…" He breathed as he scooted back leaning against the wall while sitting on his bed.

"Kurogasa?" A voice said. The boy turned to see his next door roommate Ryoko, wearing a nightgown, as she came in his room who looked concerned.

"Ryoko…" Kurogasa whispered as he panting heavily with half-lidded eyes.

"What's wrong?" Ryoko asked as she approached him. "You're sweating like crazy…" She gasped, then quickly went to the sink to grab a towel hanging on the side of the wall then went back to him, wiping his face.

"Sorry… bad… dream…" Kurogasa panted still gripped with the fear of the day he never saw or heard from his best friend again.

"Bad dream of what?" Ryoko asked.

"Remember… when I told you about my best friend and that I was kicked out?"

"Yes, you told me-" Ryoko started before realizing what he was saying. "Ohh… was it about…?"

"Yeah, the day I couldn't see her…" He sighed, slowly calming down. "It's been ten years since that day… sometimes the image of her father haunts me to this day… and to my shame."

"I see… it must have been awful…" Ryoko said as she sat next to him at his bedside.

"You have no idea…" Kurogasa muttered. "I want to find her. Even with the help of Shishou… there was no sign. Then I heard that she suddenly moved away from town and that's when I gave up for awhile. Then I spent my time working hard to learn my cooking skills from Shishou so I can one day find her again… To be honest, I _still_ feel like I'll never find her." That was when he felt his head being wrapped around and was held close to the female's chest, realizing that she was hugging him. "R-Ryo… ko?"

"It's okay to feel lost…" The girl said, "It's fine to sometimes feel hurt… if you keep bottling up those emotions they will harm you later on when people need you to be strong."

"…" Kurogasa remained silent at that.

"Do you… want me to stay until you fall asleep?"

"Ah!" Kurogasa blushed. "No, I couldn't, really, I-"

"It's okay." Ryoko giggled, "It's not like we're going to do something naughty."

"I know but… are you sure…?" Kurogasa asked uncertain.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't mind. I kinda understand what it feels like to be lost too." Ryoko admitted softly.

"…okay. You can stay." Kurogasa muttered.

"Alright. Sleep well." Ryoko said as she had him scoot over and laid next to him, his head still held close to her chest.

"So… warm…" Kurogasa murmured, before falling asleep in the air of Ryoko sleeping in peace for once.

* * *

 **Fen:** Awesomeness! Another chapter down!

 **AQ:** Zzzzzz…

 **Fen:** And she's out cold… like a block of ice.

 **AQ:** Must… write Kamen Rider W x Familiar of Zero idea… zzzzzzzz… AH! Where who why… oh morning everyone!

 **Fen:** Had a good nap?

 **AQ:** Kinda, too many skits and finishing this makes one tired. Such cuteness with Ryoko and Kuro…

 **Fen:** Yeah, but anyways, hope you enjoyed! See you on the next Main Course!

 **AQ:** Yup and next chapter is when… Kurogasa is challenged to a… Shokugeki!

 **Fen:** Stay tuned!


	4. Dish 4

**Fen:** Hey guys! Fen and Queen here for another chapter of Heaven's Recipe and… ***looks at computer screen*** Hehhhhhhhh… dang it, I was hoping that this story would go unscathed. But no~!

 **AQ:** That's like saying while in war, 'gee, I hope we don't get shot!' practically nonexistent chance man. Trolls and Flamers… gotta hate them.

 **Fen:** Yeah, yeah… well hopefully, this will ease their wraths, but I doubt it… -_-

 **AQ:** If not… ***Cocks a shotgun*** Imma going hunting~!

 **Fen:** Speaking of. I figured out the theme for this… Shokugeki coming up.

 **AQ:** Right… what was it again?

 **Fen:** Cornish Hen.

 **AQ:** Cornish Hen… hmm a difficult dish to master.

 **Fen:** But not impossible. I think Kuro can do it.

 **AQ:** In the immortal words of my teacher Gordon Ramsay… JUST DON'T SERVE IT RAWWW! Hahaha…

 **Fen:** Uh, right… well, let's start this chapter, shall we?

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

The next morning had come by and Kurogasa had woken up. However… he wasn't alone in his room. When he slowly opened his eyes, he realized that Ryoko was sleeping next to him, with his head close to her chest. _'That's right…'_ Kurogasa thought. He remembered having that dream. The day that he was kicked out and that he couldn't see Na-chan again. Him screaming caused Ryoko from next door to wake up and she comforted him all night, eventually having him falling asleep.

"Mmm…" The violet haired girl rose from her slumber to see Kurogasa, yawning she waved lazily at him. "Morning…"

"Uhh…" Kurogasa sweat dropped at her reaction as he nodded curtly. "Morning back at cha."

However like drinking a gallon of coffee, her eyes widened from last night's event, "Oh! K-Kuro, I swear we didn't-"

"No, it's okay. I know." Kurogasa smiled sadly. "Thank you… I needed it…"

"Sure…" Ryoko smiled back gently.

 ***KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK***

"Kurogasa-kun, are you up? It's Isshiki."

Kurogasa stiffened at that, before he gulped and steeled himself, going over to the door and opening it, poking his head out. "Uh… y-yes?"

"I…" The older boy started to speak as he slowly bowed, "I wish to apologize for frightening you last night."

…

…

…

…

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked.

Isshiki lifted his head back to normal height as he nodded, "Yes, I made you leave when I was challenging Soma-kun… and I didn't mean to."

"Ah, no it's okay, I uh…" Kurogasa said, as he came out of the room, "It just brought back some… bad memories."

"I see. Well, I won't pick your mind on that subject. But let me tell you, I want my underclassmen to be happy and well as long as they live in this dorm to enjoy their youth." Isshiki said placing his hands on Kurogasa's shoulders. "Please understand that."

"H-Hai, wakatta." Kurogasa nodded. "Y-You're forgiven,"

"Ah!" Isshiki released a breath of relief from that. "Thank goodness, I was worried that you'd hated me!"

"No of course not." Kurogasa waved his hands frantically. "I was just… overwhelmed. Don't worry."

"Than-" Isshiki said before he heard someone else's voice.

"Kuro~"

The boy blushed, forgetting about the girl in his room.

"Ah," Isshiki smiled, "I'll be going now, enjoy your youth!" The Seventh Seat said before leaving quickly.

"Wait! Senpai, it's not like that!" He cried out, but it was no use, as Isshiki was already gone. "Oh man…"

"What happened?" Ryoko said coming from behind as she rubbed her eyes.

"Isshiki-senpai… he apologized for what happened last night." Kurogasa sighed.

"About what?"

"Uh… when he revealed himself as the seventh seat of the Elite Ten, I ran off." He admitted sheepishly.

"Why?"

"Uh…" Kurogasa blushed, but shook his head, "I can't say. At least not yet."

"Hm…" Ryoko tilted her head confused. "Well, okay, but that doesn't explain why you blushed."

"Senpai heard you and thought that we… you know…"

"Ohh!" Ryoko blushed before giggling, "Don't worry, Isshiki… is an odd one. So don't worry about it."

"Right…" Kurogasa said. "Anyways… I better wash up, um… thanks again."

The girl looked back with a beautiful smile that can melt any cold heart, "Anytime, if you need me again… don't hesitate to ask." She answered kindly before going back to her room, for her clothes for the bath.

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix. **  
(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy. **  
(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them. **  
(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background. **  
(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot. **  
(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures. **  
(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 4:** Grilled Curry Cornish Hen with Lemon Poppy Seed Coleslaw

"Okay…" Kurogasa said before ripping off the English Ivy off the metal gate and fence. For the last half hour he was doing nothing but keeping his promise to Fumio about taking out the Ivy from the Dorm bit by bit and he just finished the gate.

"Need help?" Shiki asked holding a glass of ice cold water. "Here."

"Thanks." Kurogasa said, taking the glass of water and drinking it, before wiping his forehead. "Phew… these ivy are tough to rip out."

"Ha, yeah, but at least the dorm isn't so creepy now."

"Yeah. And we gotta cut the ones that are _on_ the dorm itself." Kurogasa sighed. "As much as I want to burn them, I don't think Fumio-san will appreciate it."

"That and most likely ruin the garden in the backyard too." Shiki added. "Anyway, I _would_ stay, but sadly I got a Shokugeki to prepare."

"Eh, you have a Shokugeki?" Kurogasa asked a bit incredulous.

"Yep. Actually, it's a tag-team battle with Bebe." Shiki explained.

"Why?"

"Two idiots thought sabotaging Megumi and Soma was a fun idea, so I told the teacher and well if I win they will be expelled."

"I see. Wait, someone tried to sabotage Megumi-chan and Soma?"

"Aye, because she's… uh not good in practical work and Soma being… well you know." Shiki said with a sweat drop.

"Figures…" Kurogasa growled. "Well in that case, show them no mercy."

"Well since the theme falls between mine and Beatrix specialties." The Drinker admitted. "I'll be sure to do that. Well, better get going. I'll see ya later." And with that, he walked off.

"Alright…" Kurogasa said, as he looked at the dorm. "Time to get the rest of these ivy out."

And so for the next two hours, Kurogasa had gone up, down, and all around the dorm, taking off every bit of English ivy on the building. Not to mention that it was very hot and he would sweat profusely and drink lots and lots of water, but eventually, he managed to clear everything up and the dorm wasn't creepy anymore. And he had gathered all of the English ivy in a few large bags before setting them aside for the trash people to pick up.

"Whew… everything's done." Kurogasa wiped the sweat from his face.

* * *

A certain honey-blonde haired girl was walking forward was walking towards the dorm, "Hisako said that he was here with a few girls… I hope he wasn't doing anything shameless with them." But she thought about it for a while, _'Wait, why am I even worrying that he would do something shameless? I don't care what he does. Though… he doesn't_ seem _the type to be doing that kind of stuff.'_

She didn't realize that she already found herself at the gates of the Polar Star Dormitory when thinking about these things and… it was clean. The last time she saw it, it was full of English ivy and crows were flocking around the place, but now, there was none of that. Who cleaned it up?

"I guess-" Whatever Erina was going to say stopped as she saw Kurogasa drenched in sweat and his white T-shirt clung to his body tightly due to it. With the sun in a well place height made him seem glittering like a prince in shining armor. "Ah!"

"Hm?" Kurogasa turned around and was startled. "Ack! Erina! What are you doing here?!"

"Uhh…" Erina can only draw out that word still dumbfounded at the sight she saw.

"W-Wha-" Kurogasa got out, until he realized that he was drenched in sweat. "Gah! Suman! I'll be right back!" He shouted before darting into the dorm and the closed the door shut. Erina stood there for a while as she was trying to process what just happened.

 _'He looked so… so…'_ Erina thought.

A few minutes later, Kurogasa came back out with his clothes on, fresh and clean from the shower and wearing his uniform. "Sorry about that… I just finished getting rid of the ivy." He apologized making Erina snap out of it.

"Ahem, try to remember that you're in the presence of a lady next time." Erina cleared her throat.

"R-Right. So uh… what are you doing here?" Kurogasa asked.

"I came here to get you, remember? For my Shokugeki." Erina answered.

"O-Oh right!" Kurogasa realized. "Okay then, lead the-"

 ***GURGLE!***

Kurogasa blinked before he looked to see that Erina's stomach growled and she looked flustered. "…You want to come in and have some breakfast first, before we go?"

"No thank you, my meals are made by myself or my friend Hisako. I'd rather not take the chance to sully my tongue with crudely made food." Erina said rudely.

 ***GURGLE!***

Erina blushed heavily as her stomach growled louder.

"Right, you're not hungry. Okay, suit yourself." Kurogasa shrugged.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…" Erina pouted. Her strong look was toppled with a conflicted look, the kind you have when choosing which snack to take when on a tight budget. "…You're making breakfast?"

"Yeah. Light Ramen Noodle Soup."

Erina thought about it for a moment before saying, "Fine… I'll have that Light Ramen Noodle Soup, you're making. O-Only because I skipped breakfast to come visit you, so make it good!" She said with an angry pout.

Kurogasa smiled a bit before he moved to the side and bowed slightly before doing a hand gesture. "Well then, come on in."

"…" Erina looked at the dorm unnerved, as she was came into the big mansion sized dorm with Kurogasa following her in. "Perhaps… I shouldn't…"

"Please, you're a guest and it's rude of me to not be a host to my guests." Kurogasa insisted.

"W-Well if you-"

"HEY KURO~! MAKING BREAKFAST?!" Soma's voice shouted as Erina suddenly slammed the door.

"Crap!" Erina yelled, doing that on instinct from hearing Soma's voice. She couldn't stand him and slamming the door to Kurogasa's face… was… "Really rude." The girl facepalmed at her action. "Great… just great…"

The door slowly opened and Kurogasa poked his head out, shaking comically. "D-D-Daijobu desu ka…?" Kurogasa got out with a sweat drop.

"Gomen… but I'd rather not be there with… him." Erina said with deadpanned expression.

"Ah, wakatta. One moment." Kurogasa said, before he closed the door. Erina tilted her head in confusion when…

 ***BING! WHACK! POW! SNAP! CRACK!***

Erina jumped and cringed at the noises she heard. A moment later, Kurogasa poked his head out the door. "Okay, you can come in." he smiled.

"But…"

"I said it's fine…" Kurogasa smiled, giving a dark aura similar to his mother whenever she got angry. Ironically, he can only do this when he was trying to be nice.

"H-Hai!" Erina squeaked out as she couldn't get in faster from the fear that built up so fast. When she came in however, she was surprised to see Soma… beat up black and blue, having lumps on his head as smoke billowed out of those lumps. "Did you…"

"Yep." Kurogasa smiled. "Satisfied?"

Erina couldn't hide a cheeky smirk looking back at the lad, "Very."

Kurogasa blushed on how sweet and cute her face had when she looked happy, "Mmm. Now please, come into the kitchen."

"Of course." She said.

* * *

And so, Kurogasa set to work and made the Light Ramen Noodle Soup he made for Fumio when she challenged him. He followed the recipe to the letter and after a while, he had made two bowls. One for him and one for Erina.

"Omatase shimashita." Kurogasa said, presenting his bowl to Erina.

"Thank you." Erina nodded as she picked up her spoon.

"Since you're trying a new ramen for the first time, try the soup first. Get to know the lay of the land." Kurogasa instructed.

"Don't tell me how to eat, I've been judging dishes before I can even speak." Erina spat out as she slowly lifted the broth to her lips. ' _The broth is light and the scent is also faint but enough to make the hunger grow.'_ Erina thought as she parted her lips to allow the spoon to dip the small amount of broth into her mouth.

"Ahh!" Erina gasped from the light flavor of the broth. It was indeed light like the name said but at the same time it wasn't weak nor too bold, just enough to want more without overloading the flavors too much! "The broth… is well done." She said lifting a napkin to her lips to wipe any liquid that might have missed her mouth.

"Thanks. Now swindle the noodles in the broth and taste." Kurogasa said next with a cheeky smile.

Erina rolled her eyes at the command as she did so grabbing her chopsticks, "You're enjoying this aren't you?" She asked as she swindled the noodles.

"Whatever do you mean?" Kurogasa asked innocently.

 _'He's teasing me like Soma… but it's like… I already know how he works. Like I know he really doesn't mean it.'_ Erina thought deep in her mind to not show it on her face. Trying to ignore the feeling, she lifted the noodles she had in her chopsticks and blew on them to cool them to a nice heat for her to eat.

Suddenly her eyes widened from the taste, "This is… noodles from scratch?"

"Mhmm." Kurogasa nodded. "Sure, store noodles are great and all, but it's a lot more satisfying if you make it yourself."

"I can tell… if this was store bought even if it was resturant class… I would have thrown it out the window. The noodles are light and airy but not too much since it holds well in the liquid and also has a great impact of flavor." Erina said enjoying the soup, "Some mistakes that are minor… but overall… I will eat it."

Kurogasa walked to her and patted her head, "Glad to hear it!"

"W-What are you doing? Don't pat my head like I'm some little kid!" Erina pouted.

"Why not? You're enjoying the ramen, aren't you?" Kurogasa grinned.

"I'm not someone to be tread lightly! I can ruin your life if you ever make me a bad meal!" Erina threatened as Kurogasa patted her head again. "Don't make me repeat myself!"

"Hai, hai, Keisuke Nago."

"I'm not Kamen Rider IXA!" Erina pouted.

"Ho~ you know Kamen Rider?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

Erina gave a smirk, "I do admit it has it moments, I especially love the W series… but I do like some others." She stopped smirking before realizing something, "H-However… I stopped watching them a long time ago…" She sadly replied, looking at her bowl to see her reflection.

"I see." Kurogasa blinked.

"You're…" Erina pointed at Kurogasa with a thinking expression, "Maybe Agito? Blade? There's also Gaim to consider… then again you also fit in Wizard… Faiz isn't that bad of a choice. Kiva or OOO maybe…" The girl kept muttering now to just herself trying to figure out something. "Argh, whatever, I'll decide on it later!"

"Suit yourself. let's just eat. This soup isn't gonna stay hot for long." Kurogasa shrugged before he started eating his share.

* * *

"You know… this isn't what I thought you meant." Kurogasa said finally breaking the silence between them as he and Erina, being in her chef uniform while having her hair tied up in a long ponytail, were in the waiting room… waiting for a long time. After breakfast, the two of them went on their way towards the arena where Erina would have her Shokugeki. All her ingredients were already there on standby and now they were just waiting. However… they waited for a really long time.

"We're just killing time until Hisako comes to tell me when to go." Erina said with a blush. "I thought eating breakfast was enough time… but I was wrong."

"I see." Kurogasa said. "So… who are you going up against?"

"I don't know. Someone who's stopping me from building a new kitchen for my own personal use." Erina sighed. "I think it's something to do with the club's hot pot society. Tch, people who'd rather stay in the past rather than continue on with their old recipes."

"You mean the Chanko Hot Pot RS?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow. He had heard about them. During the first couple days, he had read up on the various clubs that the Culinary Academy had to offer. The Chanko Hot Pot RS was formed to study and perfect the creation of chanko nabe, a traditional Sumo meal. In the past, the club earned numerous awards, but overtime, they lost their former acclaim.

"Yes. I just wish that they realize to accept their defeat already, knowing that I can beat them from understanding everything there is to cooking." Erina said with a confident tone.

"I see." Kurogasa pondered. "Well, all I can say is good luck. Just play nice." He grinned teasingly.

"Hmph, only if he does too." Erina huffed, looking away.

"Erina-sama!" Hisako said running towards them. "I apologize for the wait, but-" She then noticed Kurogasa sitting next to Erina. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"I invited him. He's…" Erina then blushed as she coughed, "Nothing more than a person to repay a debt! Yes, nothing more than that!"

"Hm~?" Hisako raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"I-It's true." Kurogasa laughed sheepishly, holding his hands up with a sweat drop. "I just treated her to breakfast, that's all."

"I see…" Hisako sighed as she looked at Erina. "It's time, so let's go to the arena for the match."

"Hai." Erina nodded before Kurogasa and Erina stood up and went on their way towards there.

* * *

Soon, Erina walked down the hallway and into the main arena as the crowd of students cheered. Inside the main arena, there was a kitchen stadium, where there were two sets of cooking areas. Behind the kitchen stadium was a panel of judges as they sat to watch the match. Erina came over to her side of the arena while another who was actually a sumo wrestler in front of her as he got into his stance.

"She's… going against a sumo wrestling chef?" Kurogasa asked as he and Hisako were standing at the sidelines.

"Sadly yes," The assistant said with a sigh.

"DOSUKOI!" The large man said doing a sumo stance.

"Kintaros much…?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" Hisako raised an eyebrow too.

"Kamen Rider Den-O."

"Ah, yes. I remember Erina-sama asking me to buy her the DVD and some other stuff in secret." Hisako said, before covering her mouth after realizing what she just said.

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Y-You didn't hear that from me!" HIsaki warned the boy glaring at him. "I know people who can take you away!"

"I didn't hear a thing." Kurogasa got out with a small chuckle while looking back at Erina, who stood there cool as a cucumber and didn't flinch at the man trying to be intimidating.

"Our Chanko Hot Pot Research Society has been in existence since the founding of this Academy." The sumo wrestler said. "It has a long and glorious history! And what do you propose to build by razing our club room, Nakiri-kun?"

"Why, just a cooking wing for my personal use. The fifth wing has been cramped, so I need a sixth-" Erina started her reason but stopped short when the large man interrupted her.

"Unacceptable!" The sumo wrestler snapped. "That building is chock full of history, and the passion of our predecessors sank into their pursuit of food! You seek to trample that into the mud? How dare you call yourself a chef!"

"Hmm…" Kurogasa thought as the older student continued his rant.

"What's wrong?" Hisako asked.

"Nothing, it's just… I think he's lying." Kurogasa simply said.

"What makes you say that?" Hisako asked.

"Just watch." Kurogasa replied.

"Is this 'passion' you speak of what you call copying your predecessors' recipes and wasting your budget?" Erina asked with a cold glare.

"!" The sumo wrestler gasped.

"See? What did I tell ya? Lying through his teeth." Kurogasa confirmed.

"Over the past few years, your group has accomplished little. A research society that only sings praises of their past glory is of little use to this Academy."

"Ah…" Kurogasa said before chuckling again, "Wow déjà vu. She reminds me of another friend who can scold me like that."

"Really? Who's that?" Hisako asked.

"I… can't remember. It's been ten years since I've last seen them." Kurogasa replied.

"You abuse your power! I can no longer turn a blind eye to it!" The sumo pretender announced.

"Liar…" Kurogasa sighed, "He's trying to look like the good guy now, since Erina revealed that he was being lazy in the club."

"If I win, I demand that you leave the Elite Ten!"

"Wait what?! Erina is in the Elite Ten?!" Kurogasa gasped in shock.

"Yes." Hisako answered with a dark smirk. "And you'll know why soon enough Kururugi."

"But-"

"There's a reason why Erina earned the tenth seat…" Hisako said.

"Tenth seat?" Kurogasa got out.

"Hai."

"Tōtsuki Jyukketsu…"

 **遠月十傑  
** Tōtsuki Elite Ten Council

 ***CLAP, CLAP!***

"Dai Juseki… Nakiri Erina…"

 **第十席** **:** **薙切 えりな** **  
**Number 10: Nakiri Erina

 ***GONG!***

"No way… just like Isshiki-senpai." Kurogasa got out.

"I demand combat, Nakiri Erina!" The sumo pretender shouted.

"Very well." Erina said, as she put on her toque blanche, "But if I win, my construction goes as planned. I accept your challenge, Godayabashi-senpai."

* * *

 **食戟** **  
**Shokugeki

 **豪田林 清志** **vs.** **薙切 えりな** **  
**Kiyoshi Godabayashi vs. Erina Nakiri

 **Theme:** Seafood

And so the Shokugeki was on and Kiyoshi and Erina set on work on making their dishes. Kurogasa and Hisako watched as Erina showed her amazing skills as a chef, using the right amount of ingredients and going through her techniques flawlessly. The boy couldn't help but stare at her in awe during the whole match.

"Wow… she's…" Kurogasa began.

"Perfect." Hisako said with confidence.

"I can see why many people hold her in high regard." Kurogasa commented.

"She has the amazing skill to not only tell dishes from her tongue but she is also a prodigy in cooking as well, never missing a beat or making a flaw in her style." Hisako explained.

"I see." Kurogasa said, as he continued to watch.

Finally, after a couple of hours, the chefs had finished and presented their dishes. Erina's dish was a Ravioli de Langoustine. After spaghetti and lasagna, ravioli is one of the most famous and popular pasta dishes from Italian cuisine. A very delicious dish that can make even the toughest guy in the planet cry in happiness! As for Kiyoshi's dish, it was some form of a seafood chanko nabe dish. He created this dish using different variations of seafood, such as lobster and oysters, and vegetables all mixed in a stew.

The judges had tasted each dish and after a while of discussing, the judges casted their votes.

 **薙** **  
** **切** **  
** **え** **  
** **り** **  
** **な**

 **Winner:** Erina Nakiri  
3-0

* * *

"The winner… Erina Nakiri!" The announcer shouted, making the crowd cheer while Kiyoshi knelt down in defeat.

"I-Impossible…" Kiyoshi said in defeat. His best dish couldn't beat Erina's. "I lost 3-0! But our chanko society… just how did my lobster fall short?!"

"It was a landslide." Kurogasa got out.

"Like I said, perfect." Hisako smiled.

"Yeah, I saw two mistakes he did in his prepping, that might have done this." Kurogasa said making Hisako look interested in his words.

"Really?"

"Yeah, for starters, he blanched that lobster for two seconds too long. And second, his oysters were most likely undercooked, tainting the entire pot. Hehhhhhhh… Shishou ga iteita: Immature fruits are sour, producing immature fights."

At that moment Erina took a sip of the hot pot and sighed, "There were at least 27 shortcomings in your dish, senpai. First the lobster. You blanched it for two seconds too long. Second, the oysters produced a slight off-flavor that tainted your whole dish. "

"You were right." Hisako looked at Kurogasa surprised.

"Told ya."

"STOP!"

"Third are the vegetables-"

"I said stop! I cannot accept this!" Kiyoshi said, before he looked around the audience and… pointed at Kurogasa? "You there!"

"Eh?! Me?!" Kurogasa said, caught off guard. "I swear I didn't say anything."

"I want you to taste mine and hers! Clearly, mine is superior!"

"Uh…" Kurogasa said stunned looking at Hisako mouthing out silently, "What do I do?!"

"Go ahead. If you're right on those two things and Erina's judgment was correct as well, then I trust your judgment… just don't moan when you eat Erina's cooking, please." Hisako said with a worried look.

"Right…" Kurogasa sweat dropped before he gulped and approached the kitchen stadium.

"Hey, who's that guy?"

"It's the guy who conquered God's Tongue."

"Wait, him?"

 _'Oh man… I didn't need this.'_ Kurogasa thought wearily before he came up to the stage. "Well … this is unexpected." He said sheepishly. Kurogasa walked towards the hot pot as he grab a unused tasting spoon and a pair of chopsticks, after getting a bit of everything in a small bowl he tasted the dish and imagined the flavors and food setting a scene.

* * *

 _Kurogasa's eyes opened to dark blue ocean all around him as he stretched then quickly headed to the surface with a happy look and saw a nearby island. The boy quickly headed there before stopping and looked down to see oil around the water and dead oysters giving a foul odor. Kurogasa thankfully reached land, but saw plants that were slightly withered from too much heat and dehydration giving a dead island look, which made him uncomfortable. Then as he went through the forest, he saw dozens of pigs looking at him and he facepalmed…_

* * *

"It tasted like I was swimming towards a dead island full of pigs…" Kurogasa slightly coughed.

"What?!" Kiyoshi yelled.

"First off, the vegetables were sitting near the heat for too long, that it actually got slightly cooked, so when it was in the hot pot, the preferred taste and texture was way off. Second, you either had a type of meat in the dish with the lobster that broke the harmony of the theme to make it more of a surf and turf or just a bad choice of broth from the bones that would end in a beefy flavor…" Kurogasa continued, adding more at a fast pace, surprising everyone that he can say that and also pinpoint the mistakes as well. He was almost like…

"Me…" Erina said with wide eyes. ' _He missed some other points, but he's getting the major stuff instantly…'_

"Uso darou! Then what about hers?!" Kiyoshi demanded.

"Oi, oi! You made me come here, so don't shoot the messenger!" Kurogasa snapped before he looked at Erina's dish then looked at her, "May I?"

"Of course." Erina answered. The boy nodded before he took a clean fork.

"Okay…" Kurogasa nodded walking towards the dish and gently stabbed his fork into the pasta and lifted it into his mouth. "!" Kurogasa's eyes widened as he immediately dropped the fork and stumbled backwards.

"?" Erina was a bit startled because she couldn't tell whether or not he liked it.

"This… has no words to describe besides heavenly!" Kurogasa exclaimed, as Erina smiled at the boy's praise, and releasing a breath of relief for some reason. "The lobster was boiled to perfection. There was a sauce inside the pasta to keep it from drying out and it was enough to not only get the natural sweetness of the lobster, but also add a nice heat to it, giving that extra kick that tastes great." He then turned to Erina. "What did you put in it?"

"Usually with lobster, many use butter as a way to taste it, but it has too much fat. So I used a tomato styled version, and adding only a small amount of salted butter for taste. I also added lemon juice and zest for sweetness and dried cilantro to boost that sweetness and bring out the lobster flavor. Then I put a small amount of cracked black pepper, hot peppers, and garlic near the end to give it a hint of heat and flavor to compliment it." Erina said with a closed eyes and a smirk on her face.

"No wonder." Kurogasa chuckled before turning his back on Kiyoshi. "Clearly, Erina's dish won, so your club is no more."

"Why you little-!" Kiyoshi yelled as he stomped towards Kurogasa, who still had his back turned.

"Haa… never the easy way…" Kurogasa sighed before saying, "Rider Kick…"

 ***WHABAM!***

The entire arena was shocked as Kurogasa did a 360° roundhouse kick on the sumo pretender's face, before he was sent flying and tumbling to the ground! He didn't even turn around to see him coming! It's like he knew! "Don't you _ever_ try to lay your hands on me again. You asked for my opinion and I gave an honest answer."

Erina glared at the older student as she pulled out her phone, "It's me. Do it."

* * *

After the destruction of the Chanko Hot RS, shown on the titantron screen, Erina and Kurogasa walked off as they met with Hisako in the back hallway. As soon as they came into the hallway…

"Itaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaai!" Kurogasa cried out comically, hopping on one foot while holding his kicking foot and the girls looked at him incredulous. "Itai, itai, itai, itai, itai! Why did I hit him while wearing thin shoes?!"

"You kicked him like it was nothing and acted all badass!" Erina shouted as she had an angry comical look on her face.

"What's your point?!" Kurogasa snapped back.

"You should be like those actors and take it like a man, not a wimp! You're disgracing the Rider Kick!" Erina shouted.

"I'm not like Seiji Takaiwa!"

"Ugh, whatever." Erina groaned before she walked off with Hisako and Kurogasa following, the latter hobbling after them.

"A-Anyways, it was most impressive, Erina-sama." Hisako praised.

"Hmph, with him as my opponent, it's not worth any praise. It was far below my expectations." Erina replied. "Do you have the list of our next targets?"

"H-Hai." Hisako said before giving a piece of paper to Erina for her to read.

"Erina-sama. Allow me to take the next target."

"Hm?" The girls stopped walking and Kurogasa stopped hobbling, looking to see a tanned girl leaning against the wall… and he blushed at seeing her. She was a teenager who had short blonde hair with an ahoge, tanned skin, and has green eyes. She has a noticeably large bust as well and is not shy to show it.

Unlike the rest of the students who wear standard uniforms depending on the season, she wears the slightly modified summer Tōtsuki uniform that exposes her cleavage. She also wore a choker. As for her cooking attire, it consists of a bikini top, short fringed shorts, two leather wristbands, and an arm sheath for her cooking knife.

"Mito… what do you want?" Hisako asked the tanned girl.

"Like I said, I want to have the honor of taking the next target. There's no need for Erina-sama to deal with trash like them." Mito scoffed with a smirk. "If that's alright with you, Erina-sama."

"You're right. It should be interesting. Just as long as you win…" Erina said with no argument in her tone. "Just remember the consequences should you lose."

"Don't worry." The girl said as she took out her cleaver and spun it around fast before catching it. "I'm called the Meat Master. And I will secure a perfect victory worthy of that name." She smirked again before licking her lips rather suggestively.

"…" Kurogasa didn't say anything as he gulped. ' _Are_ all _girls in this school super cute and sexy?_ '

The tanned girl then turned to Kurogasa. "Ho~ what do we have here?"

"Gh!" Kurogasa flinched as Mito approached him and he was all of a sudden up against the wall as she placed a hand near his face, being up close. "Uh… what is it?" He gulped again as he blushed. He was trying his very best not to look down at that forbidden place.

"You must be skilled to earn Erina-sama's time." The girl said leaning in even closer and close to Kurogasa face. "And the kick you did… you sure showed him."

"U-Uh… I-I just did the best I could…!" Kurogasa sweated as his heartbeat was beating faster. "A-And that guy was being a jerk."

"Hooo… a modest boy? Cute…" The girl trailed a hand up his cheek then using her index finger to trace an Imagery figure on his cheek. "I wonder… if I promised to treat you well… will you be my underling?" She winked at him drawing even more closer letting the boy feel her cool breath.

"Y-Your what?" Kurogasa slightly panicked.

"My underling, my own attendant. How about it? I can treat you nice… and you'll never go hungry ever again." Mito said sensually, her lips almost touching Kurogasa's, if either moved forward it would be no distance at all.

 _'Holy crap! This can't be happening!'_ Kurogasa wailed in his thoughts.

"Okay Mito, enough." Erina frowned.

"Sorry Erina-sama." Mito said lifting herself off the boy, who she looked at him with a wink. "Although the offer is still up anytime."

"I'll… uh… I'll think about it." Kurogasa panted as he slightly slouched down the wall.

"Hm… I'll be waiting." Mito smirked before she turned around to leave, having an extra sway to her hips.

"I'm not sure, if she's the type of girl Kaa-san warned me about… or the one I should date." Kurogasa weakly let out.

"Hmmm!" Erina glared and pouted at the boy.

"W-What are you looking at me like _that_ for?"

"Why don't you date her and find out?!" Erina spat out.

"Huh?! Date her?! I've never dated anyone in my life!" Kurogasa said frantically.

"Really?" Hisako asked with a shocked look. "You look like the type to play around with women's hearts." She said with a sly smirk.

"Why would I do that?! I've been taught to respect women!" Kurogasa panicked comically before he looked away with a tsun-tsun look. "I don't do that kind of stuff anyways…"

The girl shrugged, "Just calling how I see it."

"Ehehehehehe~!"

"GAH!"

"EEP!"

Erina jumped into Kurogasa's arms after hearing the dark evil chuckle. When they noticed that they were in each other's arms, they blushed heavily. "PUT ME DOWN!" The girl cried after meeting the boy's eyes.

"Suman!" Kurogasa cried out, gently putting the girl down. "What was- GAH!" Kurogasa turned to see a girl with long black hair looking at him with dark smirk. "Who are you?!"

This girl had a Sadako-like appearance due to her very long jet black hair that flowed down to her lower back. Her long flowing bangs commonly covers her right eye, even when her hair was tied back. Despite her creepy appearance, she wears a neat standard school uniform and would wear a standard chef's uniform whenever she cooks. Compared to the rest of the females Kurogasa met, her red eyes are much more sinister, lacking the luster and shine of normal female eyes. Instead, her irises are much more pronounced

"Nao…" The girl eerily whispered, looking at Erina with disturbing predatory look, but stopped when looking at Hisako with a dark smile. "Hisako~."

"I thought I told you to stay away from Erina-sama," Hisako frowned.

"Wait, you _know_ her?" Kurogasa asked incredulously.

"To my never ending shame. Her name is Nao Sadatsuka. She challenged me to a Shokugeki two years ago to take my job as Erina's attendant." The loyal girl said with a sigh. "And I won. She was supposed to stay 50 meters away from her."

"Yes and because of that I have to watch Erina-sama from afar with my binoculars and send about 30 letters everyday…" Nao eerily giggled.

"YOU WHAT?!" Kurogasa gawked as the girl who was being stalked, hid behind the boy's back.

"I should've included those activities in the prohibition…" Hisako muttered with a comical deadpan look.

"Do you not get it? To be scolded and berated by God's Tongue that is Erina-sama, is my dream!" Nao rejoiced.

 _'She's a freakin' masochist!'_ Kurogasa wailed in his thoughts. ' _Wait… why do I feel this isn't the first time I met someone like her? Weird…'_

"Get away from me!" Erina shrieked, now terrified. "I hate your food, it's smell horrendous!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Nao moaned sensually. "Yes! That's what I want to hear!"

 _'Seriously, like… on the tip of my tongue… who else do I know who's a major masochist?'_ Kurogasa scratched his head trying to think of this enigma.

"But… now I have a second chance to be by your side!" Nao said looking at Kurogasa. "And it involves your generous sacrifice!"

"Nani?" Kurogasa gritted, getting into a defensive stance. "What are you talking about?"

"I want to have a Shokugeki with you! For the honor of being near Erina-sama!" Nao challenged.

"What?!" Hisako, Erina, and Kurogasa asked incredulously.

"Yes, if you have something Erina-sama wants, I'll show her that I can surpass your skills and take your place!" Nao said walking towards Kurogasa.

"Okay first of all, back off." He said, as Nao stopped. "Second, I never asked for a place near Erina. And third, your obsession with her tells me that you're crazy!"

"I will not hide my affection for Erina-sama…" Nao said creepily to the honey blonde girl.

"But the fact that your obsession with her is not what she wants, so back off!"

"Kurogasa, trust me she isn't going to stop until you beat her in a shokugeki." The pink haired girl explained.

"Tch…" Kurogasa gritted before looking over his shoulder to see Erina still scared. After a moment, he looked back towards Nao. "Fine. You want a Shokugeki? You got one!"

"Good we'll go over the details later." The creepy girl whispered as she left. "Eeeeeeheeheeheeheeheeheehee…"

"Are you crazy?!" Erina hissed.

"It was the only for her to back off." Kurogasa sighed. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to definitely win this."

"Thank you." Hisako said to Kurogasa, "Tell me when you and Nao decide on a theme I can help you."

"I suppose I'll have to go to the Board for this one, right?" he asked.

"Yes… I'll help you out this one time since you're doing this for Erina-sama." Hisako said with a small smile.

"Right. Thanks."

* * *

"You're in a Shokugeki?!" Marui asked surprised. Kurogasa had just returned to the Polar Star Dormitory and the residents were having lunch when he returned and talked to them about what just happened.

"You're making it sound like I'm off to war." Kurogasa said as he ate some smoked fish.

"You _are_ in a way!" Megumi pointed out.

"Well, it's a stupid war to be honest." Kurogasa sighed.

"And you're fighting Nao of all people." Isshiki frowned, holding his chin with a hand as he pondered in thought.

"Is there something I should know about her, Isshiki-senpai?" Kurogasa asked.

"Let's just say… you might want to learn how to breathe from your mouth." The energetic male said as he smiled gently. "But knowing your skill set, you can beat her."

"So she's that good?" Soma asked, eating something that made the others pale… squid covered in spicy yogurt sauce.

"Dang it Soma, not another one of our outliers! Give me that!" Kurogasa snapped, grabbing it before he threw it out the window.

"Ah! Dammit, I was so sure that was going to taste disgusting!" Soma whined as he saw the food he made fly off.

"I'm not letting you make another one. Especially since I heard you made Megumi-chan eat that stuff too, kono yaro!" He comically snapped. The said girl shivered from the taste of the foul food as she tried to make herself look smaller to avoid any more experiments from the red-haired boy.

"Anyways, I'm sure you'll do fine in your first Shokugeki." Ryoko assured, changing the subject.

"Yeah, you'll beat her for sure!" Yuki chirped.

"But we still don't know what the theme will be," Shun added.

"You're in the Elite Ten, Isshiki-senpai. I'm sure you've heard _something_ from the Shokugeki Board." Kurogasa said.

"I have… The theme is Cornish Hen." The youth lover said. "And the match will be held three days from now."

"Cornish Hen, huh?" Kurogasa pondered.

"Yes," Isshiki nodded, "You can do a lot of anything with the hen as long as it has it in the dish. Freeze it, boil it, fry it, as long as it tastes good, anything goes."

"Right. Well…" Kurogasa said as he stood up. "I better start planning, buying, and test out recipes."

"Do you need any help?" Beatrix asked as she and Shiki stood up.

"No. Thanks for the offer though. I think I know where to start." Kurogasa said before he left.

"Has he always been that independent, Soma-kun?" Megumi asked.

"Yeah, his Shishou has always taught him to be strong. He'll take help when he needs it, but most of the time he prefers it alone." Soma said.

"Hmmmm…"

"I wouldn't worry about him Tadokoro. He can handle himself. I should know, since he and I would have cook-offs at our diner."

"You have cook-offs with him, Soma-kun?" Isshiki asked.

"Yeah. Every week or so, Kurogasa and his Shishou would come visit the diner and have these cook-offs." Soma explained.

"Really so who won most of the time?" Shiki asked sitting back down.

"Well me and Kuro have even amount of wins but his Shishou never lost once." Soma admitted.

"Wow, his Shishou must be truly skilled to have that many wins." Megumi said in awe.

"Oh you have no idea."

* * *

"Well… this is the place." Kurogasa gulped as he was standing in front of a door. He knocked on the door hoping to get a response soon.

 ***KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK***

"Who is it?"

"It's me… Kurogasa." He hesitated somewhat.

He soon heard footsteps from inside and the door opened to reveal Mito. "Oh, decided to take my offer?" The girl said with a confident smirk.

"Uh… I actually came here for some advice." Kurogasa cleared his throat as his eyes subconsciously looked down to that forbidden place, but then shook his head, looking away with a slight blush.

"Ho~?" The girl placed her hands on her hips unknowingly making her assets jiggle slightly. "About what?"

"I uh… got a Shokugeki coming up. And the theme is Cornish Hen." Kurogasa explained. "I figured that since you're the Meat Master, I thought of coming to you for some advice."

"Hmm, mostly beef and things of that kind are more of my field but I do know a way around poultry." The girl admitted before backing up from the door. "Come on in, let's go to my kitchen and see what I can do to help."

"D-Domo." Kurogasa said before he quickly got inside her room and looked around. _'Huh… first time I've been a girl's room other than Kaa-san's when I'm picking up laundry.'_

Soon the boy and girl passed the room to see a large kitchen, "Okay so you need help with Cornish Hen…" Mito said thinking about the dish.

"Yeah. Isshiki-senpai said that anything's allowed as long as it tastes good, but I want to cook something that will really impress the judges." Kurogasa said.

"So do you at least think of how are you going to cook it?"

"Well, I wanna at least pan-roast the bird." Kurogasa said. "Like perhaps heat up a brick wrapped in aluminum foil in the oven and place on the bird so that both sides from the brick and the pan are cooking it evenly."

"That's a good idea for making sure that it's cook evenly. But there's the chance that it will lose its juice in the process, it so might be dry. So what do you think is a good idea to stop that?"

"Hmm, for types like skinless chicken breasts without bones, I guess… we can brine them or use a marinade. I could even make a salt crusted cover. All that salt makes a nice little cover for the meat, cooking it while keeping it moist." Kurogasa said as Mito nodded.

"Good job, you sure you don't want my offer to be my assistant?" Mito laughed lightly as she nodded, "There are other ways besides doing heating styles or adding things, like butterflying them so they can cook evenly or pound them evenly. However that's for, like you said, types of meat like breast or without bones." Mito continued as she got some cornish hens out as she continued to explain, "For these types of meats, five main ways can be used to keep them from drying out. Basting, Brining, Salting, Deep Fat Frying or Injecting solutions into it."

"I see." Kurogasa nodded, putting a hand on his chin in thought. "Well since the juices will be coming from the chicken, basting could be the best option. And maybe I can add some bacon bits for that smoky flavor while using its fat to keep it tenderized and moist. Oh, and I can caramelize some sweet onions to sweeten it too."

"Those can work well, but that's one trial that's out of the way." The tan skin girl explained, "The main issue is the taste. What you going to make with this Cornish Hen?"

"Hmmmmmmmmm…" Kurogasa pondered on it. "Well, I suppose I can add some heat to it. Some fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander, whole grain mustard, and paprika should do the trick. Then I can add some slivered almonds and salt to add to that marinade as well."

"Perfect, now let's put it to the test." Mito said as she stood up with all the ingredients and equipment that Kurogasa needed. "Ready?"

"Let's do it."

* * *

Three days later…

The stage was set.

The ingredients were procured.

And the Shokugeki was about to begin.

In the main arena, the student body were sitting in the audience as they were awaiting the arrival of the two chefs that will be competing. Even the whole Polar Star Dormitory students were there to watch, including Fumio. Kurogasa was in the waiting room with Mito with him.

"Alright, this is it." Kurogasa said to himself.

"Hmm…" Mito nodded before passing Kurogasa an odd piece of equipment. "Here… I didn't know your opponent would be Nao, so here's something to help you breathe."

"A… gas mask?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Just keep it close in hand." Mito said turning blue from disgust.

"Right." Kurogasa sweat dropped. "Well, wish me luck." He said, before walking off with his cart of ingredients.

"Go get 'em." Mito grinned.

 ***SMACK!***

"What the-" Kurogasa got out, surprised. Did Mito just smack his…

"Oi Kuro!" Soma yelled from the hallway taking Kurogasa's train of thought and the blush away from what Mito did.

"Oh hey. What's up?" Kurogasa asked.

"Just came here to see you win." Soma said with a cheeky grin. "Huh? What's with the red cheeks?"

"S-Shut up. It's nothing." Kurogasa stuttered. "I'm going." He said, before going towards the end of the hallway to enter the arena.

"Ladies and gentleman! The administration has deemed this match an official Shokugeki! I am Urara Kawashima, a first year in the high school division. I'll be your host for this event!" The 'cute' announcer said with a wink.

"Urara-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Most of the boys in her fanclub cheered as their girlfriends were jealous.

"HI~!" The girl waved at them before winking once more. "Now, the contestants will be coming in from the each corner!" The girl lifted her right arm to where Kurogasa is coming from as the titantron screen on top for all to see showed his name with a blue fiery background.

 **枢木黒笠** **  
**Kurogasa Kururugi

"In the blue corner, we have the chef who has conquered God's Tongue in his transfer exam! Kurogasa Kururugi!" Urara announced as Kurogasa walked towards the arena with his chef uniform on, having a determined look on his face.

 **貞塚 ナオ** **  
**Nao Sadatsuka

"And from the red corner we have the sinister Cauldron Witch! Nao Sadatsuka!" Nao walked in with disturbing smile on her face.

"Eeeeeeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee…" Nao giggled eeriely. "Ready to be bewitched by my food?"

"You wish. I'll win this one for sure." Kurogasa said determined.

"Allow me to run through the process, as always we have three judges. The theme is Cornish Hen and main ingredient is Cornish game hen. And for this battle, the time limit is one hour! If Nao-san wins, Kurogasa Kururugi will take her punishment for an earlier Shokugeki while she goes frees. Her punishment was to stop stalking Erina-sama, so if she wins Kurogasa will not be permitted to come into contact with her." Urara explained earning some talking between the students for the odd bet.

"This is turning awkward already." Yuki said.

"It's one of the weirdest I've heard." Marui added.

"This is Nao we're talking about." Isshiki said. "She's been known to stalk Erina for a long time and sending about 30 letters to her everyday."

"Yeesh, she's creepy…" Aoki shuddered.

"You got that right." Shoji added.

"And if Kuro wins… uh…" The girl paused looking confused as she walk towards the young man. "Excuse me, is this right?" Urara showed the boy a note card to which he nodded. "O-Okay… AHEM! If Kurogasa wins… he will receive nothing!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?" The student asked surprised.

"He wants nothing?"

"He's gotta want something."

"It's a Shokugeki, why doesn't he want anything?"

"Strangely altruistic of him, don't you think?" Shun commented.

"What can I say, he's a humble and honest guy." Soma shrugged. "Can't fault him for that."

"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Megumi asked.

"Dude has honor… but it might bite him later." Soma said looking at Megumi. "Say that he _does_ win, that'll make people who hate him have all the more reason to challenge him if they won't lose anything. He needs to do something amazing to show everyone that he isn't a pushover."

"Still, it's a strange match." Shoji said.

"We'll just have to see where this goes." Aoki added.

"Pipe down will ya, the match is about to start." Fumio said, shushing them up.

 _'Saa, Kuroagsa-kun. Let's see your cooking.'_ Isshiki said to himself.

"LOOK!" A random student yelled causing Kurogasa to look to the mass amount of students to look in one direction which was Erina sitting in some fancy room with Hisako standing next to her. "It's Erina-sama!"

Nao looked towards the VIP room and smiled, "Ah~ Erina-sama…"

"Eh? Why is she here?" Yuki wondered.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Shiki answered.

"Why would one of the Elite Ten even bother to attend a small-scale Shokugeki?" Marui wondered holding onto the lens of his glasses.

"It involves her after all." Isshiki said. "Whoever loses has to stay away from her. Her reputation as a member of the Elite Ten is at stake. To have someone like Nao at Erina's side is… something that she herself won't live down for the rest of her life."

"Well, since you put it _that_ way." Aoki began.

"It _does_ make sense." Shoji finished.

As Hisako and Erina watched from the VIP room, the latter couldn't help but look worried. This was her reputation that was on the line. To have Nao next to her… ooh, she didn't want to even think about it. Just the mere thought of it sent shivers down her spine. However, when she looked to Kurogasa, she saw him looking at her and gave a thumbs-up to assure her that he's got this. Erina relaxed a little bit, but that didn't mean she was out of the woods.

"Now then let's proceed!" Urara declared as Kurogasa and Nao were at the ready. "Contestants, to your stations! Everything is at stake in this battle of the palates! Let the Shokugeki… begin!"

 ***DING! DING! DING!***

* * *

 **食戟** **  
**Shokugeki

 **枢木黒笠** **vs.** **貞塚 ナオ** **  
**Kurogasa Kururugi vs. Nao Sadatsuka

 **Theme:** Cornish Hen

The battle has begun and the two chefs began their work.

For Nao's dish, first she preheated the oven to 450° F. Then taking four Cornish Hens she had provided, she rubbed the hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil then lightly seasoned the hens with salt and pepper. She then took a lemon and quartered them before placing one wedge and one sprig of rosemary in the cavities of each hen. She then arranged them in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arranged 24 garlic cloves around hens before she put them in preheated oven set for 25 minutes.

"She's using good smelling ingredients? That's not like her." Isshiki muttered.

"Doushita, senpai?" Soma asked.

"Nao uses foul smelling foods in her Shokugeki. So this is odd way for her to start this off." Isshiki told the boy. "In fact, I bought these in case of emergency." The youth lover said holding a case of gas masks.

"Gas masks?" Megumi blinked.

"Hai. Her dishes are so foul smelling it actually sent children running for their lives." Isshiki said.

On Kurogasa's side, he preheated the grill to 500° F. He pulled out four bricks and wrapped them in aluminum foil and placed them onto the grates of the grill to heat.

"Bricks?" Yuki wondered.

"Why is he heating up bricks?" Ryoko asked.

"It's a trick used to cook meat evenly." Shiki said as he was standing beside them. "Sorry we're late just finished my battle and Bea didn't want to come until she brought home sweet treats."

"You mean candy?"

"…Sure let's go with that." Shiki said with a small blush.

Back to Kurogasa, he placed ⅓ cup of vegetable oil into a 1-quart saucepan and place over high heat. Once he saw ripples in the in the oil, not allowing it to smoke, he added 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander, and half a teaspoon of whole grain mustard seed and paprika. He toasted them for a while and when the seeds begin to pop, he removed from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. During those five minutes he toasted ⅓ cup of slivered almonds and after that time, he transferred the mixture to the carafe of a blender along with the almonds and adding a teaspoon of Kosher salt and pulsed until they have been pureed.

"Hmm." Beatrix said with a girl holding her arm lovingly. "What's he doing with those almonds?"

"I guess maybe a crust or breading?" Shiki said before looking at the girl hanging off of his old friend. "Really…?"

"Yes." The girl said before looking the other one on her arm. "You can go. We'll meet up later."

As the cooking went on, Nao reduced the oven temperature to 350° degrees F before pulling the grill out with her mittens. In a mixing bowl, sbe whisked together ⅓ cup of white wine, some chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and she poured over hens. She continued roasting for another 25 minutes longer, basting them with pan juices every 10 minutes. Once they were golden brown, she transferred hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. She then tented the hens with aluminum foil to keep warm and transferred the pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan boiling them until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency for about 6 minutes. Then she cut hens in half lengthwise and arranged on the plates. She then spooned the sauce and garlic around hens and garnished them with rosemary sprigs before she went to start on something else.

"Uwhooooa… for someone who uses foul smelling dishes, Nao is actually making something that smells good." Urara commented on the mic as the students were murmuring amongst one another about this unorthodox approach Nao was taking.

"Eheheheh… that's right for now, count how long you have left before my cooking controls you!" Nao said creepily as her opponent continue to work on his food.

"I'm seeing some red flags already." Shiki frowned.

"What do you mean?" Shun asked.

"Bea… what's on Nao's table?"

"Huh, that's low grade…?" Beatrix said confused before looking at that said table. "Oh shoot. Here it comes."

"What is it?" Soma asked.

"Those ingredients…" Marui gulped, fixing his glasses. "This is gonna be bad. Senpai, you got a spare mask right?"

"Yes here."

"Kuu… kuuu…" Beatrix breathed loudly that sounded like a certain villain. "Kurogasa… I am your Shishou…"

"SHUT IT BEATRIX!" Kurogasa yelled randomly.

At his station, he placed the hens breast side down on a cutting board. Using poultry shears, he cut from the necks to the tailbones to remove the backbones. Once he removed the backbone he was able to see the inside of the birds. He made small slits in the cartilage at the base of the breastbones to reveal the keel bones. Grabbing the bird with both hands on the ribs and opening it up like a book, he placed them facing down towards the cutting board to remove the keel bone.

"He's spatchcocking the birds." Isshiki said.

"Spatchcocking? What's that?" Megumi asked.

"The spatchcock, also known as "spattlecock", is poultry or game that has been prepared for roasting or grilling by removing the backbone, and sometimes the sternum of the bird and flattening it out before cooking. The preparation of a bird in such a manner for cooking is more popularly known as butterflying the bird." Beatrix explained, "This way he can cook them more… evenly." The girl giggled as her friend nodded but had a frown.

"That leaves one question… the moisture in the chicken. I think we all know that you need moisture in dry chicken." Shiki explain, "So he needs something to prevent that."

Kurogasa cut small slits in the skin of the bird behind the legs and tucked the drumsticks into them in order to hold them in place. He then placed the birds into a baking dish and poured over the puree, rubbing the birds until thoroughly coated.

After that, taking oven gloves, he took out the bricks in the oven and placed the birds onto the middle of the grill, skin side down and covered evenly with the bricks to cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, he took off the bricks and turned the birds over, replacing the bricks and continued to cook for approximately another eight to ten minutes. While that was cooking, he started slicing the bacon into small bits and sliced the onions into fine pieces, allowing the fat of the bacon to come out and the onions to caramelize. After a few minutes, he took off the bricks and slathered the birds with the bacon fat that was caramelized thanks to onions allowing it into the chicken before taking out the chicken and placing them on a plate to serve for later.

"Oi Kuro! Might wanna put your mask on!" Beatrix said taking hers off for a moment.

"Huh?" Kurogasa said confused.

"Unless you wanna puke!"

"Heeheehee, too late." Nao said before she suddenly added in her ingredients without warning.

Nao put low-grade shrimp into a stone grinder usually use for grinding spices before mashing them into a fine paste however due to the low-quality of the shrimp and how it was lay there without ice to keep it fresh the smell was rather… ripe.

"Oh good grief!" Kurogasa gagged from the smell alone as he almost threw up his lunch.

"MMMMMMMMMPH!" Urara puffed her cheeks while covering her mouth as did the audience. "Demashita! There's the foul smell we all know and hate!"

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"It smells like concentrated sewage!"

"I can't breathe!"

"Ehehehe, yes this mine secret sauce for this dish!" Nao cackled as she slice and dice an onion, zucchini, potato in the grinder. After also grinding it well into the shrimp the smell became even worse, as she add whole garlic, dried anchovies, fermented soybean paste, medium-firm tofu and and Korean Chili peppers. She stops to put them into a pot on a high flame stove adding some water which broke down the food and made the paste into thin smelly sauce.

"I need to thank my cousin for letting me borrow her mask." Erina said using a high-tech breathing mask as Hisako fainted from the smell not able to put hers fast enough.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh…!" Kurogasa groaned as his knees started getting weak.

"Oh no! Kurogasa!" Megumi cried out.

"Its not good…" Ryoko said worried.

"C'mon Kuro! Get up!" Yuki shouted.

"Oh he's down to last five minutes." Shiki said, "If he doesn't get his chicken out or do something for those vegetables…" The alcoholic user said with a frown.

"Ugh… I can't put this fast enough." Kurogasa groaned trying to put his mask only to yell in frustration and threw it down. "Dammit, I'll just finish this in a minute!" Kurogasa said making Nao laugh.

"Ha, you can't be serious, you need to present those hens soon. It takes almost three minutes and you still haven't touch those vegetables."

"I can and I will!" Kurogasa shouted as he struggled. "I'm not… letting you get near… Erina like this!"

"You really think you have this won?" Nao asked rhetorically.

"I know I have… this won!" Kurogasa gritted. "O-re wa… O-re wa shinjiru!"

"!" Erina's eyes widened as she lightly gasped.

Kurogasa then grabbed the lapels of his chef jacket. "Cast… OFF!"

 ***RIP!***

He took off his jacket with a single pull revealing a black sleeveless t-shirt and flipped it over showing that other side of the jacket was red before he attached it onto himself like a cape. "Clock Up!" He said before he suddenly became a blur, shocking the entire audience.

"Ehhhh?! He's suddenly fast!" Yuki said in surprise.

"Sonna…" Fumio said with wide eyes.

"Holy-" Shiki started as he eyes couldn't keep with Kurogasa's speed.

"Crap!" Beatrix finish dropping her ice cream onto the head of a poor student who sat a row below her.

"What is he-" Marui gawked.

"My eyes can't keep up!" Ryoko added. "It's all a blur!"

"Did you know Kurogasa can do that, Soma-kun?" Megumi asked just not able to believe that the boy was moving at this speed.

"He's never shown that during our cook-offs…" Soma said stunned. ' _Kuro… what are you-'_

Kurogasa wasted no time cutting the carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, kohlrabi, and chicory and to finally thin slices before almost flashing to another bowl pouring in olive and sesame seed oil then quickly adding one-fourth cup of poppy seeds and a dollop of whole grain mustard. He then used two lemons to squeeze out the juices and then grated the zest before using two ounces finely chopped Parsley. Then mix them with whisk so fast that it seems he was almost making the liquid float!

After that, he whisked them thoroughly and evenly before he placed his presentations on each plate, first putting in the cole slaw and then placing the Cornish Hens at top of them before garnishing them with a mint on each plate.

 ***DING! DING! DING!***

"Time is up!" Urara declared as the crowd roared, happy that it was over before Kurogasa stopped moving, panting heavily.

"Clock… Over…" Kurogasa muttered sweating from the technique he used.

"That's it!" Urara said with cheerful look as she pointed to the three judges. "Now for our three judges, mister Miguel Fernandez from our own school who is also an accomplished cookbook writer for Hispanic foods."

"Hola amigos!" The man said with a cheeful grin.

"M-Miguel-sensei?" Kurogasa got out surprised.

"Oh hola Kuro! Sorry, but with the lack of judges for the first, I sometimes have to come into play." The man laughed loudly.

"Second judg-"

"Oh dear!" Shiki said blushing red.

"Uh-oh…" Beatrix said as the second judge was a young woman with short black hair and wearing a kimono that was light pink.

"Miss Nanaya Yuki, she runs twenty successful sweet shops in Kyoto and won many sweet awards from her recipes." Urara said as Nero blushed deeper.

"Oh hello Nero-chan!" The girl waved to the boy.

"Crap!" Shiki panicked.

"Who's that?" Ryoko said with Kishi blushing.

"My ex-girlfriend."

"Your what?!" The group asked shocked.

"Yup…" Beatrix said with a dark look. "That girl was Shiki's second girlfriend. I don't like her."

"Stop it, you said that every girl I break up with." Shiki moaned as Beatrix huffed.

"You deserve better! You're my best friend!"

"And finally, for our third judge. A rising star of in Kyoto's classic diner is-" Urara then used her hand to show the last judge. "Ni Ongaku!"

Everyone saw a girl around Kurogasa's age seating in a judge's chair. She had short wavy blue hair that stop to her shoulders and has light blue eyes, she wore a blue scarf around her next and had a white chef uniform. Ni also wore professional black work pants all with a black rose that was on her hair.

"Hello!" The girl said with a happy look. "I'm glad to be here… but I wish I was with my cute student right now!" The girl used her hands to hold blushing cheeks. "Oh but she will be angry if I skip out on my duties."

"Ooooh, I like her already." Beatrix giggled perversely.

"Stop it, last time you got with a teacher, you almost got married with her… what was her name again… something with an I?" Shiki pondered.

"Okay, would Nao-san please present her dish." Urara said.

"Oh right!" Kurogasa said finally putting on his mask and able to breathe properly. "Now I kinda feel bad for not listening to Shishou on how to put these on."

"Here's my dish! Garlic and lemon Hen with Doenjang sauce!" The girl muttered lifted the dome to show three plates.

"Ueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…" The judges gagged as did the other people in the audience.

"AIYAIYAI!" Miguel said turning blue. "Dio, chica! What do you do to these poor Hens?!"

"Urp!" Ni covered her mouth with her hand almost throwing up. "She looks so cute, but this smell isn't worth it!"

The other Judges look to see Nanaya using a clothespin to pinch her nose smiling, "A woman is prepared for anything."

"Dozo… have a taste." Nao encouraged.

"Ha~i!" Nanaya said taking a fork and knife.

"Mama mia! You can't be serious!" Miguel said taken aback.

"Just pinch your nose and eat. We're chefs, we need to eat or we'll be showing the greatest disrespect of not leaving an empty plate." Nanaya said before eating it. "Gah! This sauce is so smelly I can actually smell it in my mouth but…"

"But?" Ni and Miguel asked.

"The taste of the smelling shrimp is making want more!" Nanaya said taking out the item pinching her nose to eat it.

"Yes, the Doenjang is usually paste-like substance but using it as sauce it just as well!" Nao said as Miguel and Ni ate, both having green faces but slowly eating it with increasing fast speed.

"I can't believe they're actually eating it!" Megumi exclaimed.

"It stinks but it tastes good! How does that even make any sense?!" Yuki wondered incredulously.

"Like I said, this is what Nao is capable of." Isshiki answered. "Despite having caused a number of odor incidents, her skills as a chef must not be overlooked."

"Finished!" Ni said before slumping down. "I feel violated… and not the good kind~"

"It's… how do I say this… it's… I suppose tolerable… even though that's an understatement…" Miguel added.

"Whoo… can we… have some water or something to help-"

"Here." Kurogasa said presenting them the coleslaw and glass of water, then placed the Hen to them. "Grilled Curry Cornish Hen with Lemon Poppy Seed Coleslaw.

"Gracias…" Miguel said, chugging down his glass of water. "Ah~ aiyaiyai… whoo…"

"Better?"

"Hai… oh you're kinda cute." Ni giggled

"Uh… thanks. P-Please enjoy." Kurogasa said as he stepped back.

"Thanks." Nanaya bow her head eating the coleslaw as did the other two.

"Che… you really think that you can break my dish's curse? It can never be- huh?!"

* * *

 **BGM: The Secret Ingredient Called Victory**

Nao was shocked as the three judges were suddenly shoveling in the cole slaw while cutting and eating the hen quickly. How can this be? There was no way that Kurogasa's dish would taste better than hers. The mere idea of it was just inconceivable!

"Oh my! The spiciness of the chicken! It's so delicioso!" Miguel said in happiness as he kept eating the cornish hen piece by piece. "And together with the refreshing coleslaw, it complements and heightens each others' flavors!"

"IT'S SO AMAZING!" Ni squealed out loud as she stuffing her face full of the coleslaw. "It's so fresh even though the vinaigrette is so light! It's like the breath of fresh air to let out the disgusting air from the last dish!"

"Indeed and despite the chicken is cook evenly without too much lost of moisture and the coleslaw helps it while still being delicious." Nanaya calmly said.

"Ah!" Megumi gasped with a smile.

"Yosha!" Yuki cheered.

"It looks like they're refreshed." Marui smirked.

"It's over, for sure." Soma grinned.

"B-But how?! My hens should've bewitched all of them!" Nao said in disbelief.

"Let me tell you something, this dish isn't mine nor my fathers… its a Dish I master from my Shishou's personal creations." Kurogasa said with an odd light shining from above. "This is the first in his Series of Heaven's Recipes."

"No way… nothing can defeat my curse!"

 ***DUN!***

Kurogasa gave the girl plate of the food he served, "If you think so… then try this dish. Walk the Path of Heaven!"

 **End BGM**

* * *

"!" Fumio's eyes widened at that quote. "He just said…"

"Eh? What's wrong, Fumio-san?" Ryoko asked.

"Mm? Ah, nothing," Fumio replied before looking back at Kurogasa with a knowing smile. ' _I should've known… he's your student, isn't he…'_

Nao looked at the dish, slightly trembling before taking it. She first took the coleslaw and placed it in her mouth, then took a piece of hen and bit out of that too. "!"

She dropped the plate as she stumbled backwards, the girl's mind suddenly saw a path made of light as she tried to run away. The path started to make her go forward as a bright light was burning the shadows around. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YAMEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"What the- what's happening to her?" Aoki wondered.

"Is she… actually being… exorcised?" Shiki asked.

"Can his cooking really do that?" Megumi said scared from the intense screaming.

"This is a first for me." Soma blinked.

Suddenly she lifted her head to show that her usually dark look and shadow over her eyes were gone, was now a gentle sweet look. And she even seemed more full of life as Kurogasa turned around and smile gently, "He who walks the path of heaven will rule over everything… as my shishou would say. But for me: He who uses the Path of Heaven will save everything." Kurogasa said doing his pose. "Welcome to Paradise."

"No way!" Hisako said after recovering from the stench. "He… fixed her?"

The judges looked at each other and nodded before casting their votes pressing the blue buttons.

 **枢** **  
** **木** **  
** **黒** **  
** **笠**

 **Winner:** Kurogasa Kururugi  
3-0

* * *

"And it's a one sided victory for The Conquerer! Kurogasa Kururugi!" Urara announced.

"UWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The crowd said in shock and surprise.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the Polar Star residents cheered.

"He did it!" Ryoko exclaimed.

"Way to go, Kurogasa!" Aoki and Shoji cheered.

"Hmph…" Shun smirked a bit.

"He won! He won!" Yuki yelled hugging Megumi.

"Yeah, he did!" Megumi smiled.

"Told ya he would." Soma grinned.

"That makes three wins for our dorm." Shiki chuckled.

"You really are something, Kurogasa-kun." Isshiki smiled a bit.

Meanwhile, Erina slumped in her seat, breathing a sigh of relief. Now she won't have to deal with Nao anymore. "Thank goodness…"

As the crowd murmured amongst one another, Kurogasa walked up to the now Purified Nao. "You okay?" He asked.

"Y-Yes… just…" Nao said moving around and taking in some breaths. "Just… feels weird… but better."

"Glad to hear it." He smiled a bit. "Now Erina won't have to worry about you stalking her a lot."

"Actually…"

"Hm?"

"Since you… helped me rid of my dark side, I… I want to be your aide."

"Excuse me?" Kurogasa blinked surprised.

"I-IF THAT'S FINE WITH YOU!" Nao stuttered completely out of character. "It's just… I want to see your cooking style and perhaps find a new way of cooking that one day Erina-sama may like."

Kurogasa looked at her for a while before saying, "Sure. I'll show you how to walk further down the Path of Heaven."

Nao smiled sweetly as she nodded, "Hai, arigatou!"

* * *

After everything was cleared out, Kurogasa and Nao for now went their separate ways as he went down the hallway that led to his waiting room. When he went in, he saw Erina, Hisako, and Mito waiting for him.

"Hey, you did it!" Mito grinned smacking his back rather hard.

"Ehehe… thanks…" Kurogasa said sheepishly.

"Congratulations Kurogasa." Erina said, "How did your cooking… purify her?"

Kurogasa smiled, "Shishou's recipes are the best… that's all there is to it."

"Still… we thank you." Hisako bowed. "Hopefully she won't be a bother again."

"Oh there won't be any more trouble from her. Trust me." Kurogasa assured.

"Very well." Erina said before she started leaving, with Hisako following but not before stopping as she looked over her shoulder. "Again… thank you. I'm in your debt again and I'll repay you back somehow."

"No need to. Helping a friend out is all I need for payment."

"A… friend?" Erina asked a bit surprised.

"Of course. We're friends, aren't we?" Kurogasa smiled a bit.

Erina sighed with a wry smile, "I guess. Alright, we're friends. Gokigenyou." She said before leaving with Hisako, closing the door behind them.

But Kurogasa quickly looked at Mito and gave her a plate of his food, "Do you mind giving this to Erina?"

"Sure, but first," Mito smirked before she placed the food down on the table and suddenly had Kurogasa against the wall. "Speaking of payment, I think it's time I cashed in on that."

"W-Wha?!" Kurogasa blushed heavily.

"I helped you out, so it's only fair." Mito said sensually.

"Y-Yeah, but-"

"Oh, and it comes with interest. So two things for payment."

"T-Two…? W-What do you have in mind?" Kurogasa stuttered.

"Well… for the first one, you can help me out if you ever feel like it, at your discretion." Mito said. "As for the second, which I'm cashing in now… let's just say I'll give you a "hand" in that."

And from there… let's just say he entered "Paradise" for the next couple of minutes.

* * *

 **Fen:** Wohoo! Kuro wins his first Shokugeki!

 **AQ:** Yawn… about time…

 **Fen:** Yep. Never expected Nao to be exorcised did ya, huh? Huh? :D

 **AQ:** And this is permanent, meaning no more creepy version.

 **Fen:** Yes so please, no hate on us for that. And before you say anything about that last bit, no, Kuro has not punched in his V-card. Way~ too early for that. Just letting you know. Anyways, we'll see ya on the next Main Course!

 **AQ:** As my teacher once said… Eff off you flamers!


	5. Dish 5

**Fen:** Hey everybody! Fen and Queen here for another chapter of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe!

 **AQ:** Yup.

 **Fen:** And this time around, Kuro's gonna take a little break from the spolight and we focus on Shiki and Beatrix because their Shokugeki is coming up!

 **AQ:** Yeah!

 **Fen:** So let's get cooking you guys! As Takeshi Kaga once said in Iron Chef: Allez Cuisine!

 **AQ** : … ***Gets shotgun*** ONLY HE AND HIS NEPHEW SAYS THAT! PREPARE TO DIE!

 **Fen:** AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

"Huuuuuh… I can finally relax now." Erina sighed as she sat at the desk in her office. It was a rather long day for her. Not too long ago, her newfound friend Kurogasa was challenged to a Shokugeki by Nao Sadatsuka. She wanted to have some sort of masochist relationship with Erina, wanting her to berate and scold her for making terrible food. But Kurogasa managed to stop that. In the Shokugeki, the theme was Cornish Hen and the Rice Specialist even though he excelled in rice, displayed amazing skill without rice. He even did this… 'Clock Up' finishing up the coleslaw he made in time.

In the end, Kurogasa managed to win his Shokugeki, and when Nao tasted his dish, for some reason, it was able to 'purify' Nao and now has become more gentle and sweet girl. The thought of the old Nao was terrifying, but with this new one, Erina can relax knowing that she won't cause any more trouble. "I don't have to worry about Nao stalking me."

"Indeed. We're lucky that Kurogasa… did whatever he did to Nao." Hisako said still a bit off about the cleansing of Nao. "Is his food… really that heavenly?"

"If he says it is, then it is." Erina replied.

*KNOCK, KNOCK*

"Erina-sama, may I come in?" Mito's voice asked.

"Dozo." Erina replied and the door opened to reveal the Meat Master coming into the office, with… Kurogasa's dish?

"Why do you have that dish?" Hisako asked with mild curiosity.

"Kurogasa asked me to give this to Erina-sama." Mito answered.

"Of course he does," Erina sighed. "He's been keeping his promise to bring me every dish he cooks for me to taste."

"Wow, that's nice!" Mito commented as she smiled. "It seems that he has a thing for you."

"It's not like I have feelings for him." Erina huffed.

"Ouch, now I feel bad for the guy." Mito said with a cringe.

"So… are you going to taste it?" Hisako asked.

"I might as well." Erina said, before she took the fork and knife and sliced a piece of the Cornish Hen, poking it with her fork. She then took the spoon and scooped up some cole slaw before placing both in her mouth. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!" She cried out, as her eyes widened at the taste.

* * *

 _Erina's eyes opened to see around her… the sky. She turned her to see clouds, eating at the finest table made from silver. She looked down on herself to see she was wearing a beautiful white gown before hearing an *ahem*. She looked forward to see Kurogasa in a butler's uniform smiling at her as he filled her empty glass with water._

 _"Is everything perfect,milady?"_

 _"I-"_

 _However the boy looked concerned, "ERINA-SAMA?!" Kurogasa grabbed her shoulders, shaking her comically, "ERINA-SAMA, SNAP OUT OF IT!"_

* * *

"W-What?" Erina said seeing Hisako was the one shaking her. "H-Hisako?"

"Are you okay, Erina-sama?" Hisako asked worriedly.

"You were in a daze." Mito added.

"W-Was I?" Erina blinked.

"Yes. You dropped your fork and muttered something about Heaven." Hisako said before looking at the dish. "It's… not that good, is it?"

"It… It… _was_ good." Erina got out.

"Maji ka?" Mito said, before she and Hisako looked at the dish and to each other then back at the dish again.

 _'Why… why am I liking his dishes so much?'_ Erina wondered to herself. _'All of his dishes… they were so good… like that cake I had so long ago… Is he really…'_

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix. **  
(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy. **  
(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them. **  
(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background. **  
(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot. **  
(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures. **  
(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 5:** Drunken Vanilla Ice Cream a la Cookie Bowl

The sun began to set as Kurogasa was walking back towards the Polar Star Dormitory, however… he was feeling a bit wobbly. The reason? Well, as said before, Mito had him enter "Paradise" for the next couple minutes and just leave it at that. Sure, he had to owe Mito a favor since she helped him out, but… what she did was… unexpected. He soon showed up at the dorm and went inside and there, Soma was waiting for him.

"Hey Kuro!" Soma said greeting the boy. "Look! Beatrix and Shiki's Shokugeki was taped and we're watching it! Wanna see it?"

"H-Huh? Oh uh, sure…" Kurogasa trailed off, still feeling a bit dazed.

"Huh what's wrong? You look likeyou ate some of my experiments." Soma said looking at Kurogasa's weakening legs.

"I don't know if I should tell you…" Kurogasa moaned slightly.

"Okay." Soma simply said.

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked. "That's it? You're not gonna wonder what happened?"

"Nah, besides I want to see the match!" Soma said with a grin.

 _'For some reason, he reminds of some guy I know. Passionate for something, but clueless about everything else.'_ Kurogasa thought. "Well whatever," He sighed before he followed Soma to the living room where the TV was.

"Took you long enough." Shiki said, eating some popcorn.

"Sorry, this guy kept holding me back." Soma grinned, jabbing a thumb at Kurogasa.

"Well excuse me for being so wobbly after that Shokugeki." Kurogasa deadpanned. "Anyways, I'm here now. So are we gonna watch your Shokugeki or not?"

"Waiting for Bea, she's-"

"Here." The girl came into the room with her hair messy and wild-like.

"I'm not even gonna ask what you did." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Whoo, start the film Shik, I'm getting snacks. Ten sodas, fifty chocolates snacks, and much more." Beatrix giggled, walking to the kitchen.

"Welp, nothing like the present." Shiki shrugged before he placed the DVD in the DVR before he pressed the play button.

[ _"Minna-sa~n! Ko~nnichiwa~!"_ ] Urara greeted everyone on the mic. [ _"It's your favorite cute announcer Urara~!"_ ] She then winked at the camera doing a pose.

[ _"Urara-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"_ ] The fanboys cried out as their girlfriends were getting jealous and angry at Urara.

[ _"CAN WE GET THIS STARTED?!"_ ] Beatrix loud voice cut through the annoying yelling.

[ _"Bea, stop yelling, you're hurting my ears,"_ ] Shiki winced, massaging his ear by picking at it with his pinky.

[ _"Today we have a tag-team battle with four chefs! Beatrix and Shiki vs Tsukasa and Rai!"_ ] Urara said as Beatrix rolled her eyes.

[ _"Geez, why do we have to be in this Shokugeki?"_ ] Rai grumbled.

[ _"We didn't even do anything."_ ] Tsukasa added.

[ _"You two tried to sabotage my friend's dish just so you could save face."_ ] Shiki frowned. [ _"And now you have to save your butts from beings expelled because I called you two out."_ ]

"Wait aren't those guys from our class Megumi?" Soma said pointed out the two guys.

"They were. They're the ones that sabotaged our Beef Bourguignon?" Megumi said.

"So… how did that happen?" Kurogasa asked Shiki.

"I was in the same class with Beatrix. She recorded it and show it to Chapelle-sensei. And boy was he mad." Shiki answered.

"Yeah, he was going to expelled them anyway, but I wanted them to suffer a bit." Beatrix said with a dark look. "To humiliate them and make them feel despair…"

"Beatrix your side is showing." Shiki pointed out in a deadpan manner.

"Whoopsie~!" Beatrix patted her head trying to look ditsy. "Sorry~"

"Bipolar disorder?" Kurogasa whispered to Shiki.

"No… I think she picked that up from my last girlfriend… brr… bad times…" Shiki paled still giving a poker face.

[ _"And now to go over the rules!"_ ] Urara said. [ _"You have one hour to complete your desserts! Also, should Shiki and Beatrix, Tsukasa and Rai are expelled from the Academy. But if the opposite happens, then_ they're _expelled!"_ ]

"Wow a little dangerous, don't you think?" Kurogasa asked as the two winners shook their heads.

"Not after what we were told, what was going to be our dish." The two said in unison.

[ _"Today's theme is… Ice Cream!"_ ]

"Yeah, you had this won…" Kurogasa muttered. "I can see Beatrix winning this."

"Oh it wasn't just me." Beatrix said downing a soda in a few seconds.

"Wait? Shiki-kun too?" Megumi asked.

"Uh-huh." Shiki grinned.

"Let me guess. You added booze to the ice cream." Kurogasa deducted.

"Not just any booze! Wine and certain spirits make it taste disgusting." Shiki corrected. "Whiskey or Bourbon, man! Perfect match in Heaven!"

"Uh-huh…" Kurogasa said.

"Agh just watch!" Shiki threw his arms in annoyance.

[ _"Okay, it's time to begin cooking!"_ ] Urara announced.

* * *

 **食戟** **  
**Shokugeki

 **志木** **·** **ベアトリクス** **vs.** **司** **·** **ライ** **  
**Shiki/Beatrix /Rai

 **Theme:** Ice Cream

With that, Shiki and Beatrix slap a quick high-five but to some people who can see it, they nodded nearly unnoticeable. Shiki went to grab flour, eggs, sugar and other things as Beatrix got some of the same as well.

The boy quickly grabbed a mixer as he measured and toss the ingredients mix into the machine, as Beatrix did something off. She cracked the eggs separating the whites from the yokes as she use said the yokes to put into a small bowl adding milk, vanilla beans, cinnamon, and sugar, whisking it altogether.

The sweets lover whisked them in almost impossible speed and grace as she then pulled out a metal bowl over a low flame on the stove. She then opened up a can of evaporated milk into the bowl as she continue to whisk, humming and looking like a goddess handling the sweets.

"Trying to copy my Clock Up huh?" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Boo, I call it my Start Up!" Beatrix sticked out her tongue cutely.

"Going Faiz then…?"

"Hmhm, yes."

"Then you should know that will only last 10 seconds."

"Sadly in the show yes, but for my sweets I can go over the limit." Beatrix look at the boy with a bit of fire in her eyes. "I can say I can beat you in speed and stamina."

"Nuh-uh, Clock Up reigns supreme."

"Uhh guys, we're watching this." Soma broke the debate as everyone was getting annoyed at the argument.

"Fine…" Beatrix and Kurogasa huffed looking away from each other.

"Aw man!" Yuki cried, "You guys made us miss what Shiki put in the oven!"

Indeed the girl spoke the truth as Shiki crouched quickly putting a pan into the oven as he quickly went to Beatrix's side while she went to his old position. Now Shiki continued what she was doing adding an orange-brown liquid into the mixture.

"Is that… bourbon?" Soma asked.

"Good eye but no, it was Whiskey." Shiki said with a grin. "Adding alcohol into ice cream helps make it soft, instead of getting to hard. Since alcohol cannot freeze."

"But how can you be sure that the alcohol won't overpower the ice cream's natural sweetness?" Megumi asked.

"Taste test." Shiki explained, "I have an odd ability of estimating a perfect amount of any beverage into my food but I need to know how much alcohol or flavor it has. That one I tasted over ten times, so I had the perfect amount in my mind to add into it. Enough to get the flavor across but also get it that nice sensation."

"Just like Erina's God Tongue." Kurogasa guessed.

"I call it the Devil's Tongue." Beatrix said, "Instead of figuring out what's wrong, it does the opposite and fills in what's needed!"

"Though… I can only use drinks." Shiki sighed.

"Ohh look!" Beatrix said as she pointed when the camera changed towards her.

The Confectioner just started on a type of whipping cream and started eating some macaroons. As she did this, she kept looking down, smiling while doing her own cooking… before instantly making custard, pouring chocolate into molds and also making a batch of macaroons.

"Did… she just do all of that?" Ryoko said astonished at that speed.

"Clock Up is way better…" Kurogasa mumbled to himself.

"She just did four things at the same time!" Yuki yelled out, "That's awesome!"

"Ohh, you like that huh?" Beatrix said with blushing look.

[ _"Beatrix! The clock is almost up dou- no triple up!"_ ] Shiki yelled to his partner who dropped her tray of freshly made macaroons and saluted. She grabbed the simmering pot of evaporated milk and trade spots with Shiki, whisking still now slowly adding the hot milk into the mixture carefully.

Shiki rushed to the over as he pulled out a sheet of…

"Cookies?" Megumi said.

"Wait, the theme is ice cream." Kurogasa pointed out.

"Just watch." Shiki chuckled as the video version of himself was cutting out large circle of the cookie and making them into the shape of a bowl. After making sure they weren't going to lose balance, Shiki carefully put them into the blast chiller.

[ _"Beatrix, time?!"_ ] Shiki asked while going to an ice cream maker setting up the machine in the last second as it took a few minutes to get that right consistency he wanted.

[ _"Fifty seconds!"_ ] The girl yelled back as she ran to it, still whisking as Beatrix stopped and added the mixture into the maker. A few minutes passed as Beatrix went to the blast chiller to get the cookie and gave them to her friend. He smiled as he pulled the handle letting the soft and delicous looking ice cream fall into the first cookie bowl, then the second, and finally the third.

Beatrix grab them into a seprate plates and add a dollop of whip cream, some chocolate shavings, and lastly one of the few and clean macaroons into the bowl while adding a little white cherry on top.

"It's ice cream in a cookie bowl!" Soma exclaimed.

"Fufufu, that's what you call it! I call it my ultimate dish!" Beatrix said with a cute giggle.

"Well I call it: The Winter Dream." Shiki said with a modest smile on his face.

 ***DING! DING! DING!***

[ _"And time's up!"_ ] Urara called out, as the bell rang. [ _"Step away from your desserts!"_ ]

[ _"Aww… I wanted to do more to make them feel inferior…"_ ] Beatrix pouted.

[ _"Oh stop Bea, this is more than enough."_ ] Shiki sighed.

[ _"And now will you please present your desserts to the judges."_ ] Urara said.

Rai and Tsukasa went up first to the three judges, first was Roland Chapelle, who he was looking at the two boys with rage etched into his face.

"Wow, you're weren't kidding about his anger." Soma said looking at the vein that was pulsing from the man's forehead.

"I told you~," Beatrix sang.

The woman next to Roland was wearing a double-layered violet _yukata_ with red and pink flower petals design. "Ah, I know her! That's Shigeno Kuraki!" Beatrix said with a pleased look.

"Who?" Megumi asked.

"The president of the traditional Japanese restaurant, _Kuraki._ " Beatrix said. "Pretty well known around here."

"And who's the third one?" Shun asked.

"That's Shigenoshin Kōda. A pretty well-known gorment." Shiki said pointing to a man with a thick mustache with the ends curving slightly upward.

"Well, let's see how they judged their dishes." Marui said, fixing the position of his glasses.

[ _"First we have Beatrix and-"_ ]

[ _"NOPE~!"_ ] Beatrix said loudly, with a sweet smile. [ _"I can't in good conscious allow my clients to eat something bad like those two foolish, idiots, scum-sucking boys~"_ ] Beatrix said with a cheery tone.

"Uh… where were you doing?" Kurogasa asked.

"Enjoying the moment, with girls I love to touch and cuddle with boys… I like to break them down until there's nothing left by a husk of their former- BAH!"Beatrix stop talking as Shiki hit upside the head with a frying pan.

"Bea, shut up right now." Shiki growled.

"Yeesh, and here I thought Rika would be abusive with a frying pan…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Who?" Megumi asked.

"A friend of mine from back home." Kurogasa answered with a wave.

"Trust me this is the 50th one I bought this year!" Shiki said looking at the large dent he made on the pan. "Now I need a 51st."

"Ita~i," Beatrix whined, crying anime tears while holding her head.

"Beheave yourself…" Shiki muttered ready to use the pan again when needed.

As the video went on, the three judges took a bite of Tsukasa's and Rai's dessert. And their reaction? Was nothing special just normal.

[ _"It was passable for an A."_ ] Roland said, [ _"But no flair or any excitement."_ ]

[ _"I agree, you play it way too safe."_ ] Kuraki added

[ _"Mhh, I have no comments besides edible."_ ] Kōda finished.

"Seriously? That's all they got?" Soma raised an eyebrow.

"Hehe see I what I mean? No big boom!" Beatrix said with laugh.

[ _"And now for Shiki's and Beatrix's dessert."_ ] Urara said, as the duo in the video presented them.

[ _"Please enjoy."_ ] Shiki bowed.

[ _"And feel free to call- GAK!"_ ] Beatrix choked when Shiki grabed her into a headlock when she left her number for Kuraki.

The three judges look at the cookie bowls they were served and Roland took the first move, by pickup a spoon and cutting it in a small triangle piece that had a bit of everything. Ice cream, cherry, whip cream, chocolate shavings, and the cookie bowl itself.

[ _"This is-!"_ ] Roland said with a wide eyes as he lips instantly curled up into a big smile.

[ _"Chapelle-sensei… smiled again!"_ ] The audience shouted.

[ _"KYA!"_ ] Kuraki moaned happily as she shed tears of joy.

[ _"Remarkable!"_ ] Kōda said dramatically. [" _How did you do this?!"_ ]

"Whoa, those are pretty big compliements." Ryoko said with a shocked look.

[ _"What's is this bitter-sweet flavor I'm tasting in the ice cream? It's like it perfectly balances out the sweet and creamy flavor of the ice cream itself!"_ ] Chapple said as he ate more of the ice cream.

[ _"Hehe… the secret is in the whiskey."_ ] Shiki smiled cheekily.

[ _"Whiskey?"_ ] The judges asked simultaneously.

[ _"Yes, I specialize in using alcoholic stuff into my food. Ice creams usally can be too cold and too hard, but using a splash of this whiskey I have, not only gave a nice depth of flavor and bitteriness to the sweet but help it from becoming too hard and had the perfect soft served texture. Also chocolate shavings, Bea?"_ ] Shiki look to the girl as she nodded.

[ _"Right, I used a 95% dark chocolate bar with a hint of nutmeg. As you know in Europe and other places in the world, they like a more robust flavor and depth rather than sweet. The whipped cream had powder sugar, cinnimon and vanilla extact, the macaroons were made from the original recipies of using almonds and such which made a perfect flaky dry taste to do with the ice cream should it melt to early. The cookie bowl is warm enough to cut but not to warm to melt all the ice cream. The Winter's Dream come true, something so cold… that makes the heart melt. Every single componet was made to strengthen each other from start to finish!"_ ] Beatrix said as she looked at the three judges.

The judges all looked at them shock before they looked to each other, nodding and casting their votes.

 **志** **  
** **木**

 **·**

 **ベ** **  
** **ア** **  
** **ト** **  
** **リ** **  
** **ク** **  
** **ス**

 **Winner:** Shiki and Beatrix  
3-0

* * *

[ _"And the winners are Shiki Kishi and Beatrix Altair!"_ ] Urara announced and the crowd cheered.

"Heh… sweet victory." Beatrix smirked.

"Oi, a victory quote only works when I'm around." Kurogasa deadpanned.

"May they drink in the glory of my success…" Shiki said coolly.

"Now you're just being a bunch of copycats…" Kurogasa sweat dropped before they turned off the video. "Still, you sure showed them." Kurogasa stated.

"It's not about that, they tried to cheat and I brought Justice." Shiki admitted. "With a Drunken Fist."

"Don't you mean Iron Fist?" Soma corrected.

"Ha, let him have his moment, I admit, with his whiskey ice cream and my sweets knowledge, it was no wonder we had a landslide win." The sweet master said. "Their ice cream had no impact whatsoever."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about them." Soma said, before stretching his arms out. "I'm turning in for the night. Later." He yawned before getting up to leave for his room.

"Same here." Kurogasa said, before doing the same thing. "Good night."

* * *

The next day…

Kurogasa was sleeping peacefully in his room. It was the near the weekend, and he didn't have to go to school. He can finally sleep in. He sure definitely needed it after that Shokugeki yesterday. It certainly tired him out, especially when the old Nao used low quality ingredients and made him also puke his lunch out.

[ _"Kurogasa-kun, Kurogasa-kun, are you awake?"_ ] Isshiki's voice asked through the pipe.

"Huuuuh? Isshiki-senpai…?" Kurogasa yawned as he slowly sat up, rubbing his eye. "What is it?"

[ _"I'd like your help with something. Can you come out once you get changed?"_ ] He asked.

"As much as I'd like to, I wanna sleep in…" Kurogasa yawned before he laid back down on the bed, on his side facing the floor. That was when… Isshiki popped out from a loose plank on the floor?

"Oh don't be like that."

"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kurogasa freaked out as he literally jumped out of his bed but hit his head on the ceiling before falling back down on his bed, holding his skull in comical pain. "ITAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII~!"

"Hmm? What's wrong, Kurogasa-kun?"

"How the heck did you come out from under my floor?!" Kurogasa snapped comically. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"I do this all the time."

"Ever heard of invasion of privacy?!"

"Oh come now, don't be like that. Go get changed once you're feeling better." Isshiki smiled before he went back down and closed the loose prank.

"Man… so much for sleeping in…" Kurogasa groaned.

* * *

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yuki laughed as she, Soma, and Kurogasa were walking around the dorm to the back. Soma was wearing grey sweatshirt and pants along with black boots, while Yuki wore black long-sleeved shirt, an light orange mini-skirt, long black socks and brown shoes, and Kurogasa wore his gold shirt with silver jacket with blue jeans and black shoes. "You were woken up by Isshiki-senpai?" She asked.

"More like freaked me out…" Kurogasa grumbled. "Now I got a huge bruise on my head, thanks to him."

"If you think that's freaky, he opened up a square panel of my ceiling to wake me up." Soma added.

"He stops after a while. You should've ignore him." Yuki giggled at the boys.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Kurogasa asked.

"We're going to the back of the dorm to harvest the vegetables we're growing." Yuki explained.

"Oh, you grow your own ingredients huh?" Soma asked.

"Yup, not just that we all have little projects around here and there too. After all, the road to good food is paved with good ingredients. That's our dorm's motto." The game cooking girl said. They kept walking as they walked past Shun who was using a chainsaw to slowly shave off the wood chips. "Shun uses smoked wood for his own use, while Ryoko who specializes in rice malt, has her own workspace.

 ***BAWK, BAWK!***

They briefly stopped at a chicken coop that had some chickens in a decent-sized cage, but were roaming around freely. "As for me, I want to breed some special Polar Star Chicken like the French Bresse chicken, so I'm breeding some cage-free right now." Yuki added.

"Heh, also I have an idea for making the basement into a good wine cellar." Shiki informed.

"Gah! Where did you come from?!" Kurogasa freaked out.

"He's like me!" Beatrix said hugging Yuki, "I also have plans on making new stuff for my sweets."

"Hey, hands off," Yuki said, getting Beatrix off.

"Aw c'mon!" Beatrix whined.

"By the way, good job getting rid of the ivy." Shiki said to Kurogasa.

"Ehehe… thanks." Kurogasa said a bit sheepishly. "It took a while but I managed to get them off."

"Wait, that was you?" Yuki asked a bit surprised.

"Yeah, I saw him before going to my Shokugeki." Shiki spoke. "I guess he can have his space soon."

"No wonder it looks so clean." Yuki said. The group continued to walk until they arrived at their destination. "A~nd here we are! This is where we manage all our vegetables with Isshiki-senpai as our leader!"

"Whew…" Shiki whistled.

"Whoa, you must have like ten kinds of vegetables grown back here!" Kurogasa said in awe.

"Blah… veggies…" Beatrix stuck out her tongue.

"This is really amazing here." Soma said, looking around before he noticed someone in particular, hoeing the ground. When they looked closer, they saw that it was Isshiki. But… why was he wearing nothing but black boots and a loincloth?! And was his sweat glistening?!

"Ohayo, minna-san." Isshiki smiled.

"Gack…" Everyone gawked at Isshiki.

"BLAH!" Beatrix fell to her knees pretending to throw up. "That… was something no one should see…"

"Morning labor sure is good for the spirit, isn't it?" Isshiki said as he had the hoe on his shoulder. "Let's sweat together!"

"Somehow, I feel utterly disturbed…" Kurogasa shuddered.

"Blah…"

"Grow up Bea!" Shiki comically shouted.

"It fits him to a T…" Soma got out as Isshiki approached them.

"Knowing how food grows is part of our training. You can call this the Polar Star Farm. Or better yet the Isshiki Farm." the youth loving senpai said.

"Right…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Oh! Soma-kun! Kuro-kun!"

Everyone turned to see Megumi. She was wearing a yellow apron over her green checkered blouse with blue jeans and brown boots. She even had a pink handkerchief around her neck and a straw hat as well.

"Oh, Tadokoro." Soma noticed. "You're here too."

"Look. Isshiki-senpai grew these vegetables." Megumi smiled as she showed them a basket she was carrying that was full of the said vegetables. "Aren't they delicious?" She then looked to Kurogasa who blushed slightly. "Hm? What's wrong, Kuro-kun?"

"Kawaii…" He muttered. "You look cute like that…"

"I concur…" Shiki blushed lowering his hat to cover his face.

"Eh? Ehh?" Megumi blushed too.

At that moment Beatrix took Megumi hands into hers, "…Marry me…"

"Huh?!" Megumi cried out.

"Oi, hands off her!" Shiki said, pulling her away from Megumi.

"Hmm?" Beatrix hummed with cat ears appearing on her head. "Ho~ is she your type?"

 ***BONK!***

"OWWWWWWW!"

"S-Shut up!" Shiki stuttered. Meanwhile, Isshiki took two tomatoes and handed each one to Soma and Kurogasa.

"Here you two. Try a bite." Isshiki said.

"Ah, domo." Soma thanked, taking the tomato with Kurogasa doing the same before they both bit into it.

"Whoa, this is-!" Kurogasa got out.

"Delicious!" Soma finished. "It's plump and super sweet! I could something like this at the diner! How did you manage to grow these high-quality?"

"It eats up all of my time. Sometimes I can't go to classes because of it." Isshiki admitted with a carefree smile.

"You sure have your priorities backwards, Isshiki-senpai…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Omatase~!" Ryoko called out. The Polar Star residents turned to see Ryoko and Shun showing up, with baskets behind their back, ready to help with the harvest.

"Oi, Kuroinu, over here!" Fumio's voice called out as Kurogasa turned around to see Fumio over at an empty plot of land.

"Kuroinu…?" Kurogasa sweat dropped as he went over to her. "Yes? What is it?"

"I wanted to thank you for clearing out the ivy." The Madonna of the dorm said. "It looks good as new like it was back in the day."

"Well, I'm not letting stay as some kind of haunted mansion." Kurogasa said sheepishly.

"In any case, for your hard work, this empty plot of land is yours as you see fit." Fumio said pointing to a empty field.

"Really?! Yosha!" Kurogasa cheered. "I can make a rice field with it and grow my own rice!"

"Oh if you want I can also take care of it when you're at school!" Isshiki offered.

"Are you sure?"

"If you want, I don't mind a little extra work." Isshiki chuckled.

"Sure, I appreciate it." Kurogasa smiled. "Alright, let's get this field working!"

* * *

And so for the next several hours everyone pitched in to help making a new rice paddy field for Kurogasa. First they dug out the land and next they filled the dugout land with water and after that, they planted the rice plants into the water with even spacing. Shiki and Shun helped out with building a drainage system to drain out the water when it was near harvesting time. After that, they went to picking the vegetables and fruits that were already ripe for the picking and everyone enjoyed their time.

"Minna~ it's breakfast time!" Megumi called out as everyone stopped working.

"Whew… just in time." Kurogasa smiled as they went to a table that was set up and Megumi had rice balls ready for everyone. "Thanks for helping out with the rice field everyone. I really appreciate it."

"I also prepared drinks." Shiki said before giving a deadpan look to Kurogasa, "Non-alcholic… just juice and carbonated drinks." The boy pull out a case that held seal metal cans but it was separated by a black piece of wood. "The ones right here in the right side are juice, and the ones on the left are soda's."

"Ohh, those look great!" Yuki said picking up one. "Angelic… cherry?" The girl read the can title with a cute look of curiosity.

"That is bit of honey and cherry for juice." Shiki said taking a soda. "Megumi may I?" The boy asked pointed at a rice ball.

"Dozo." Megumi said as Shiki took one before biting into it.

"Whoa… this is good!"

"Bum bum bum bummm~!" Beatrix sang the wedding song as the two teens that she was looking blushed.

"Stop it." Kurogasa said as he glared at the sweet maker.

"Blah!" The girl stuck out her tongue.

"Mmmmm… This rice ball… the filling is kelp simmered in soy and… cheese?" Isshiki asked.

"Hai, the heavy sweet flavor of the kelp works well with the cheese!" Megumi said happily.

"Then what's this last one?" Soma asked as he bit into it. "Wow! The garlic flavor rocks!"

"This one is pork marinated in garlic." Megumi explained.

"Eh~?" Soma asked surprised.

"I can taste the other flavors too." Kurogasa said as he chewed to try and guess which ingredients were in there. "The pork is marinated in… honey, garlic, whoa, miso and sake too?"

"Sake?" Shiki and Beatrix said in unison, the boy with slight happy look while Beatrix a glare at Megumi.

"Hai. I saw Soma-kun use honey during the first day of class and I thought of making something based on that."

"Wow. I'm impressed. Nice job, Megumi-chan." Kurogasa praised.

"Wait… if she's this good… how come her grades suck?" Beatrix said aloud before noticing Megumi look like someone had sucker punched her stomach.

"I think you hurt her…" Soma said with a nervous chuckle.

"I always had stage fright issues… and I just fail at everything…"

"You're not the only one." Shiki said pointing at Beatrix. "She can't do much besides sweets and is a nervous wreck when she can't do them."

"Hey!" Beatrix snapped.

"What? It's true. And might I add about your sensei?" Shiki said. That made everyone pale when the girl shook comically and held herself in a fetal position.

"…Gordon is evil…" Beatrix cried waterfall tears.

"Gordon… wait, as in Gordon Ramsay?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!" Everyone shouted in surprise.

"*Sniff* yeah, mama knew him when they were kids. He taught, or rather yelled, the teaching of cooking at me. To this day I can't make a meal without thinking of him screaming at my ear and making me almost deaf." The sweet master cried.

"Wow… wait, you're a sweet maker right?" Kurogasa asked.

"Yeah? So?"

"But that isn't the line of work Gordon is in."

"I said he taught me the art of cooking, I _mastered_ the art of sweets. It's my comfort zone, sensei never yelled at me when making sweets." Beatrix said with a proud look.

"Yet you can't cook anything else without crying." Shiki pointed out, "Megumi's just nervous, that makes you a crybaby."

 ***POP!***

"Oww!" The boy groaned when Beatrix hit him over the head with his case of drinks. "No, my Sangria! It took me forever to make it perfect!"

"I thought you said there wasn't any alcohol in them!"

"That one was for me teme!" Shiki yelled as he did a prayer. "May you rest in peace drink…"

 _'That guy has issues…'_ Kurogasa sweat dropped.

* * *

"So… have any of you decided to join any clubs?" Yuki asked as they were walking back towards the dorms.

"Clubs?" Kurogasa asked.

"It's more like Research Societies." Isshiki corrected. "Here at Totsuki, there are a lot of group that do research on specific types of food or ingredients. Members can develop new recipes after school or have cooking contests outside of the Academy."

"Like me. I'm part of the Local Cuisine RS." Megumi said.

"And me, being part of the Wine and Spirit RS." Shiki said.

"You only joined that club just to get drunk you underaged drinking bastard…" Kurogasa deadpanned with gritting teeth.

"Chigau yo!" Shiki yelled pointed at Kurogasa.

"Doukana~" Kurogasa said, giving him a troll face.

"Jerk, but seriously I don't drink when teaching those guys the finer points on making drinks." Shiki said with a happy smile.

"Sure, whatever you say," Kurogasa shrugged.

"No, I can say he's telling the truth. His right eye twitches when he lies." Beatrix said pointed at his face.

"I do not…" Shiki said before his eye did twitch. "See?"

"Yappari na…" Kurogasa gritted before putting him in a chokehold. "I knew you just wanted to get drunk!"

"No I think that was for the eye twitch." Beatrix said… "Do you want to drink at the club?"

"NO!" Shiki yelled still trying to breathe. Beatrix looked and nodded to Kurogasa.

"Not lying, he's telling the truth." The girl gave a thumbs-up.

"Tch… fine…" Kurogasa grumbled before letting go.

"GAK!" Shiki yelled as he hit the floor. "I… am going to… kick… your…"

"As we continue to waste time...school's about to start." Beatrix said taking out a pocket watch. "We might wanna finish this up."

* * *

And so after everyone was changed into their school uniforms, all the Polar Star Residents went to their classes. It was uneventful to say the least. It was as normal as it could get. It was only after school, that things started to happen. As of now, Soma, Megumi, and Kurogasa had just finished their classes for the day and were now at the front of one of the buildings as they saw a bulletin of the many clubs Totsuki had to offer.

"Whoa… look at all the clubs." Kurogasa said in awe.

"Yeah, there's Japanese, Western, Chinese, Haute, and vegetarian cuisine…" Soma added. "Even fermented foods and preserved foods. Oh, there's even one for ekiben."

"Mmm, there a lot of clubs you could choose from." Megumi nodded.

"Man, there's no RS for Sushi…" The Rice Specialist frowned. "That's like my favorite food next to takoyaki."

"I wonder if you can make your own?" Soma said, "That way you can have the club you want… I wonder if there's some kind of test?"

"Uhh…" Kurogasa paled remembering the Shokugeki between Erina and that sumo pretender. "I hope not ehehe…"

"Why not ask? I think Erina-san can at least tell you the progress." Megumi said hoping that it can help her friend.

"Hmm, that is a good idea. You know what? I will ask." Kurogasa said. "Where will you head off to, Soma?"

"I'm gonna check out the Don RS. Maybe I can get some inspiration for some new menu item for the diner."

"Alrighty, see ya later." Kurogasa waved before running off to find Erina.

So, Kurogasa walked around the school, trying to find the said person, and after a while, he managed to find her. "Hey Erina, can I talk to you?" Kurogasa asked catching Erina who was walking with Hisako.

"Hm? Kururugi-kun?" Hisako asked, as the girls turned around to see him approach.

"Kurogasa…" Erina acknowledged. "What do you need?"

"I wanted to talk about making an RS." Kurogasa replied.

"Oh don't worry, most likely with my new kitchen I think I can spare a room or two for you." Erina said in confident tone as she looked at her friend with serious cold eyes. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No- wait… what do you mean spare a room or two?" Kurogasa asked a bit confused.

"I will be going after many more clubs and disbanding them to get my new kitchen, the old one is getting crowded. You should know the sumo I defeated, Godabayashi-senpai, was the reason why I had that Shokugeki in the first place." Erina said.

"Well yeah, because he was lazy." Kurogasa blinked. "Who else is like that? You already have someone else in mind that was like him?"

"Hisako?" Erina asked her best friend.

"Next is… the Don RS."

"Don RS?" His eyes widened. "That's where… Soma's headed."

"Gah!" Erina's eyes twitched at the mention, "Yukihira? Ugh! That boy practically has no sense of respect for his superiors, treats everything like a joke, and believes just because he work in a diner makes him better than everyone here!" Erina said placing her hands on her hips.

"Hehhhhhhhh, that's Soma for you, he always antagonizes everyone he meets," Kurogasa sighed. "But even though he does that, his skills as a chef is not something to overlook. I should know, because I've been in cook-offs with him at his diner."

"Sorry if that doesn't convince me." Erina said darkly, "I'd rather lose my new kitchen than let that ruffian stay here."

"Erina-sama…" Hisako said trying to calm down her friend.

"Oh right, ahem." Erina coughed, "As I was saying, I don't think he is school material here. So what exactly do you have in mind for a Research Society?" Erina asked.

"Simple really. A Sushi RS." Kurogasa grinned.

"Sushi?" Erina raised an eyebrow.

"Mhmm. As you know, sushi is the staple of Japanese cuisine, celebrated internationally all over the world." Kurogasa explained. "There are a lot of different varieties of sushi and each kind are prepared and presented differently. There are certain flavors that can be communicated through sushi, and you can be creative to advance sushi culture. Plus, they can be fun and innovative in their way. At least that's what _I_ think."

"Oh, well, as long as you keep making me dishes- I mean-!" Erina blushed at what she said.

"?" Kurogasa blinked, tilting his head. "Nani?"

"Just… make more dishes for me." Erina turned around blushing red but thankfully no one saw it.

"Of course. You know I always keep my promises." Kurogasa smiled a bit. "Oh, by the way, how was the recent dish I sent ya?"

"Y-Yes, about that… it was… passable." Erina admitted with a small blush. "Anyways, my time is needed elsewhere, gokigenyou." And with that she turned away with a flick of her hair before walking off. Hisako bowed to him before turning around to leave as well following her lady.

"Heh…" Kurogasa chuckled. It was cute when he saw her blush.

"You there!"

The girl that Kurogasa saw has purple eyes and hair, which has a slightly longer group of hair that stuck out from the top of her head. She has a very tall and slender, yet curvy, stature including her large breasts. And she wore the standard uniform. However… she was glaring at him, intensely.

"Um… can I help you?" Kurogasa tilted his head.

"You're Kurogasa Kururugi, correct?"the purple-haired girl asked.

"I am. Why do you ask?" He asked somewhat unnerved.

"Hmm…" The girl looks at the boy with hawk-like eyes, "You don't seem much."

"Excuse me?" He blinked. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Miyoko Hojo. I saw your match with Nao Sadatsuka." She said, before she slammed him to the wall and placed a hand near his face. "You got some nerve defeating a woman in a cook-off, completely if I may add."

"W-Whoa, hey what's your problem?" He asked. "I got nothing against you."

"But I do! You made Nao submissive to you!" The girl grabbed his collar and lifted him. "Granted, she may be off-handedly strange, but she's still a woman! And I don't tolerate men who force women into submission!"

"Gh… c'mon, put me down, will ya?" Kurogasa gritted. "Look, it was her that challenged me, not the other way around! She was getting too close to Erina and I had to stop her!"

"OHH! I see, you're going after Erina now huh?! How many girls do you need!"

"No, I- Gack!" Kurogasa cried out as Miyoko was now choking him. "Help! Someone help!"

"Hojo?" Beatrix asked coming forward to the two. "You… choking Kuro? I didn't know he liked it that way."

"Bea, help me, she's- gaaaack! Gaaaaack!" Kurogasa couldn't say anything as he was desperately trying to breathe.

"Fine~ …you know, in a perfect world, you, me and Hojo here would be rutting-"

"GAH!"

"Beatrix stop talking about me like that." Hojo blushed turning around at the sweet maker while dropping Kurogasa.

 ***COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!***

Kurogasa was on the floor as he was coughing really bad and hard as he was getting back his air while holding his throat.

"You okay?" Beatrix asked standing in front of him. "Cause If so, I would like to have a night of passion with you and Hojo. Just leaving it out there."

"Dang it Bea! Read the mood!" Kurogasa coughed out.

"I am! She wants it!" Beatrix threw her thumb at the violent girl. "Trust me she is a real sc- MMHHHPH!" The girl mouth was covered by Hojo.

"Shut up~!" The girl demanded.

"Kurogasa?" Nao's voice said as she saw what happened. "Kurogasa!" She cried out running over to him as she knelt next to him. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"

"I'm- *Cough* f-fine." Kurogasa said looking at Nao and blushed seeing her hair was now held by a scrunchie showing her face instead of covering it. It made her look more beautiful, however Kurogasa notice she was moving her mouth. "W-What?"

"I asked why are you looking at me like that… It's making me blush…" Nao said with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Sorry, I-"

"Bastard! How long are you going to keep this up?!" Hojo snapped as she went back to slamming Kurogasa to the wall and choking him.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!"

"Hojo-san! Stop it!" Nao begged. "Please! He made me into a better person, so stop hurting him!"

"Hey! What's going on here?!" They all turned to see Mito standing there. "Hojo, what are you doing to him?!"

"Ah, Mito!" Hojo turned around, letting go of Kurogasa who coughed badly again while Nao attended to him. "I was telling Kurogasa off for making Nao into… what she is now."

"Look I get you want to show off that ladies can cook just as well as men but not like this!" Mito sighed irritably, walking over to them. "You need to get out now, or I will report this to Erina-sama and have you expelled for attacking him."

Hojo sighed before glaring at Kurogasa, "This isn't over…" She promised before looking at Beatrix who was pursing her lips. "…Get help…"

"Hey~!" Beatrix whined before Hojo left. "Come back here and make out with me!" The sweets lover said chasing after the hot-blooded girl.

Mito glared at Hojo before looking back to Kurogasa and knelt next to him. "You okay?"

"*COUGH, COUGH!* I need tea…" Kurogasa wheezed.

"I-I'll get some!" Nao said running to the vending machine.

* * *

"Gack…" Kurogasa wheezed as he was now back at the dorm at the dining room. Fumio was checking on his throat as she rubbed it gently.

"Mattaku… that Hojo girl did a number on your throat. She almost crushed your voice box." Fumio frowned.

"In any other circumstance… and if you were a masochist… you would've enjoyed that." Shiki chuckled coming into the room with a small box. "Here, some ointment for the bruise."

"Daijobu desu ka?" Megumi asked worriedly.

"I'll be… fine… *COUGH!*" Kurogasa wheezed. "Dang it…"

"Geez, and here I thought, _I'm_ the guy that gets in trouble." Soma commented.

"Unacceptable…" Isshiki said, showing one of his rare frowns. "She should be expelled for this."

"Technically she can't." Shiki started, "Besides some students like Nao, Mito, and Beatrix who are more or less friends of Kurogasa, not to mention him getting close to Erina, will call it hearsay and protecting a friend and all that. Also that Kurogasa is on thin ice for kicking that sumo guy as well, granted he did attack first, but the teachers were on the fence with the kick."

"Just great…" Kurogasa groaned. "I'm gonna get expelled for that? It was self-defense. *COUGH! COUGH!*"

"Which is why I will plead your case on your behalf to the Elite Ten." Isshiki assured. "Remember, we Elite Ten mostly have the final say in anything."

"True, but need I remind you of the others?" Shiki said with a deadpan look. "Rin-chan? Yankee boy? Tiny Bea?"

"Who?" Kurogasa asked.

"The Second, Ninth, and Fourth Seat of the Elite Ten." Shiki said. "Second and me… long story." The boy blushed before moving on, "Ninth wanted me to join his little plans, and fourth…"

"Aww yes Momo…" Beatrix drooled with far off look in her eyes. "My… ultimate dessert…"

"Anyways, while I understand what you are saying, nonetheless, it's my duty to protect my kouhai." Isshiki said firmly.

"True, and that's great… but sadly the only ones who will take it seriously is only Erina." Shiki sweat dropped.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Isshiki asked.

"Shoku… geki…" Kurogasa said out of the blue.

"Aw no, Hojo-chan is bit out of your league." Shiki said, "Just let senpai do his thing."

"Screw it… she just unleashed the wrath of Heaven…" Kurogasa said darkly. "And I'm going to administer Tenbatsu…!"

"You sure about that?" Soma asked.

"Yeah… I'm going to make her walk the Path of Heaven…" Kurogasa muttered.

* * *

The next day…

"Alright, where is she?" Kurogasa got out as Nao was walking along with him at the courtyard where students were lingering around, after classes were all done. His throat was still wheezy and she wanted to make sure he doesn't do anything strenuous.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Nao asked.

"I'll be fine… just gotta keep drinking tea to help ease the pain…" Kurogasa grinned a bit.

"Somehow… I feel this is my fault…" Nao said sadly.

"Huh?" Kurogasa asked as the two stopped walking and he turned to her. "Where did _that_ come from?"

"If I never was my other self… or challenge you in the first place… or even came to this school…" Nao started and became more depressive with each what if scenario.

"Hey, hey, don't say that." Kurogasa said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's not your fault. You were just… being yourself at the time. I'm not going to fault you for something like that."

"But… you were harmed…" Nao said softly.

"I was hurt because of her and not you." Kurogasa said. "So don't worry about it."

"Well… okay."

"You again!"

"GAH!" The two jumped into a hug being frightened by the girl who yelled at them.

"What are you doing?!" Hojo asked.

"Nothing!" They shouted, letting go of each other.

"How much lower do you think you can go, lecherer?!" Hojo snarled as the argument caught the attention of some students.

"Hey! You're the one that yelled!" Kurogasa snapped. "Anyways, I've been looking for you."

"Me?"

"That's right. Because I'm challenging you to a Shokugeki!" He declared pointing at him, surprising the students in the area.

"Shokugeki?" one student asked.

"Against Hojo?" Another questioned.

"There's no way he can beat her,"

"We gotta tell everyone."

"Ho~, so you want to duke it out huh? And you've finally revealed your true colors too." Hojo smirked.

"Not yet. I'll reveal my true colors in our Shokugeki." Kurogasa frowned. "And when I do, you'll definitely walk the Path of Heaven."

"No way, I will beat you so bad that you'll be my submissive toy."

"Gh…!" Kurogasa gritted.

"So… what's the terms?" Hojo asked.

"The main ingredient will be Rice. And since I'm making a new RS in Totsuki, the theme will be Sushi. And it will be three days from now. If I win, you have to join the Sushi RS no ifs, and, or buts about it."

"And if _I_ win?" Hojo asked.

"Then I'll do whatever you want, even after we graduate." Kurogasa said with a calm look.

"Hmph… really… anything?"

"Anything…"

Hojo pondered on this before she smirked. "Alright, I accept your terms. Be ready to submit to everything I say." And with that, she turned around and left. The students who were in the area then left to tell their friends.

"You dummy…" Beatrix appeared behind Nao hugging her.

"Eeek! What are you-" Nao squeaked.

"Shh, shh… let it happen." Beatrix said sweetly.

"Bea, get off of her." Kurogasa said, before prying Bea and carrying her over his shoulder.

"Hey! Let me go! Let me go!" Beatrix squirmed, trying to free herself but to no avail.

* * *

"So you made it happen huh?" Soma asked as he and Kurogasa were hanging out in the former's room late at night.

"Yeah, the Shokugeki is happening three days from now." Kurogasa sighed.

"Oh? Your Shokugeki is a day after mine." Soma noticed.

"Wait, what?" Kurogasa asked surprised. "Against who?"

"Mito." Soma said with a chuckle.

"What?!" Kurogasa exploded. "What did you do _this_ time?!"

"Nothing, she was going to tear down the Don RS and I wanted to defend it!" Soma said with a smile.

"Dang it Soma…" Kurogasa facepalmed. "You _always_ antagonize everyone…"

"I didn't do anything!" Soma complained.

"Whatever… so what's the term for yours?"

"The theme is Don and the main ingredient is meat. If I win, Mito joins the Don RS. If she wins, I'm expelled from here for good." Soma grinned.

"You sure got balls of steel, man…" Kurogasa sweat dropped. "Looks like we both got our work cut out for us."

"Yup!" Soma grinned at the sentence.

"You have any ideas for your donburi?"

"Still planning. You?"

"I got a few in mind. Gotta test it out though."

"So… we both have no ammo in our guns…" Soma said… which lead them to sigh loudly. This was gonna suck.

* * *

 **Fen:** Well, that went better than I expected.

 **AQ: *Eating the ice cream Shiki and Beatrix made*** Not bad indeed. I like how it went, though Hojo yikes!

 **Fen:** Yeah, never knew she was that strong. And here I thought her stomping the ground in episode 19 was scary enough.

 **AQ:** Uh-huh…

 **Fen:** Er-hem, let's just hope, she doesn't do any more damage than necessary.

 **AQ:** Right… anyway still it looks like Kurogasa has a nice little harem.

 **Fen:** While it may look like that, it's not happening… -_- I've already had enough trouble as it is with my Gaim story…

 **AQ:** *CoughsbullCoughs* Sorry…

 **Fen: *pulls out a katana*** Say that again… I dare you…

 **AQ:** Sigh… Katsumi-kun, Haruto-kun!

 **Haruto and Katsumi: Henshin!**

 **AQ:** My guns are bigger than yours…

 **Fen:** …We're gonna sign off right now. See ya on the next Main Course…


	6. Dish 6

**Fen:** Hello! Fen and Queen here for another chapter of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe!

 **AQ:** …

 **Fen:** Uh… you okay, Queen?

 **AQ: *Thumbs-up***

 **Fen:** You sure? Why aren't you-

 **AQ: *rolls eyes, while writing on a white board*** 'Can't speak. Had surgery on my throat.'

 **Fen:** Ah… that explains it… ouch… :/

 **AQ: *Writes*** 'Enjoy the new chapter'

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

Late at night, Kurogasa was in his room sitting on his bed with his legs crossed as he was reading a book on sushi. Not too long ago, Kurogasa had challenged Miyoko Hojo to a Shokugeki. The theme was sushi and the conditions were that if he won, Hojo would have to join the soon-to-be made Sushi RS, however, if _she_ were to win, he would have to submit to everything Hojo tells him to do. And the match was three days from now.

"Arrrrrrrrgh mou~ I can't figure out what kind of sushi I'll make for the Shokugeki!" Kurogasa groaned frustrated as he put his book down and scratched his head wildly. "Dang it, what should I do…" He questioned himself.

 ***KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK***

"Yes?" Kurogasa called out.

"Kuro-kun, it's me."

"Hm?" Kurogasa blinked as he got off his bed and went over to the door to open it up seeing the blue-haired girl in her pajamas. "Megumi-chan? What's up?"

"I… heard you yelling as I was coming back from the bath." Megumi said.

"Ah… gomen." Kurogasa laughed, sheepishly.

"Is something wrong?" Megumi asked.

"Uh… yes _and_ no?" Kurogasa said weakly.

"What do you mean?" Megumi asked confused.

"Come on in." Kurogasa motioned and Megumi entered his room before he sat on the bed and held up his sushi book. "My Shokugeki is coming up soon in a couple days or so against Miyoko Hojo. Sushi is the theme. I don't have a problem because while I specialize in rice, my true forte lies in sushi. But my problem is… I don't know which one will impress the judges… let alone which ingredients I should use…"

"Ano… why not ask some friends to taste test? That's way you can have someone telling you if they're good."

"That's not what I'm worried about. It's the ingredients." Kurogasa sighed.

"Like what?" Beatrix appeared behind Megumi.

"Eeek!" Megumi squeaked, hiding behind Kurogasa.

"Will you stop that?!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

"Will you stop taking the cute girls from me?!" Beatrix comically snapped back copying the boy.

"That's not even my fault to begin with!"

"Yeah… not! Anyways, seriously like what?" Beatrix said for once being serious as she laid next to Megumi not trying to touch her. "Isn't sushi just raw fish and rice?"

"Yeah, but it's not just that. There are other ingredients you can use to make sushi."

"Then master that basics before going on to other ingredients, there's a saying my mama loves to say… 'Don't add everything to sweets.'" Kurogasa and Megumi blinked at her words. "What?"

"Uh… nothing. Thanks for the advice." Kurogasa said, looking away.

"To be honest, you're a friend of Shiki, that's why I'm giving you advice. If you weren't, I would be helping Hojo get into her-" Beatrix started, until Shiki opened the door. "…He's right behind me, isn't he…"

"Beaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~?!" Shiki growled.

"I'm helping, I swear! If I'm lying, I'll forego dating!" Beatrix said with a worried look.

As Shiki and Beatrix were having their argument, Megumi had just thought of an idea. "Kuro-kun, if I could suggest something. Maybe you could go to Tsukiji Market. They have some fish you can use there."

Kurogasa pondered at her words, "That's… actually not a bad idea."

"Help!" Beatrix yelled as Shiki grabbed her legs, dragging her. "I'm going to die~!" Beatrix whined and flailed her arms like a child giving a tantrum.

"Sorry for her interruption." Shiki bowed, "Go to sleep, Bea!"

"Wait… even though it pains me to say this… can she come tomorrow?" Kurogasa asked.

"Seriously?" the two said in unison.

"Well she can't, because tomorrow she's getting Treatment #89!" Shiki said.

"NO! NO! NOOOO! NOT MY MANGA! IT'S THE NEWEST EDITION!" Beatrix wailed comically.

"URUSAI! IT'S GETTING BURNED ALONG WITH THE REST!" Shiki yelled.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeease, anything but my collection, I just got so much!"

"Da-me!" Shiki denied before dragging her away.

"You… know something?" Kurogasa started turning to Megumi. "I think they make a sweet couple."

"Gross!" Beatrix screamed, "OWW, WHAT DID I SAY!?"

"I think they're more of the brother/sister type." Megumi said.

"MORE THAN YOU THINK! OWW!"

"Huh… well anyways, you wanna come with me to the market?" Kurogasa asked Megumi.

"Y-Yes, if that's okay." Megumi said with a slight stutter.

"Of course. I'm gonna need your help after all." Kurogasa smiled. "We'll go as soon as classes are all done tomorrow."

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix.  
 **(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy.  
 **(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them.  
 **(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background.  
 **(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot.  
 **(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures.  
 **(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 6:** Salmon Roll, Caterpillar Roll, Rainbow Roll, Great White Roll, and Heaven's Roll

As promised, the next day, after all classes were done, Kurogasa and Megumi made their way to the Tsukiji Market via a bus that Fumio provided as transportation, driving them over there. After dropping them off, the two of them went inside the said market, only having access to the outer market. It had a mixture of wholesale and retail shops that sell Japanese kitchen tools, restaurant supplies, groceries, and seafood, and have many restaurants, especially sushi restaurants. It handles more than 400 different types of seafood from cheap seaweed to the most expensive caviar, and from tiny sardines to 300 kg tuna and controversial whale species. Overall, more than 700,000 metric tons of seafood are handled every year in Tokyo.

"Man, look at all these fish," Kurogasa said in awe as they walked around while he carried around a huge cooler filled with ice. "Business is really booming."

"It's always like this." Megumi said with a cheery smile while waving to a few tough looking men, without either flinching or being frighten. They even smiled and waved back with equal amount of cheerfulness.

"You seem… at home here." Kurogasa said with a nervous chuckle as some the scary looking men were watching him.

"I used to go to my hometown fish market when I was little girl and now, I guess it's natural now." Megumi said. "Ohh, here's the fish that they recently caught!"

"Heh~" Kurogasa said, as he looked at the various types of fish and seafood the market had to offer. "They're all high quality too."

"Ayyy, what's happening Megumi?" A teen appeared smiling wearing a Fisherman's outfit. He was tan with a cross shaped scars on his cheeks. "You here with ya boyfriend? Bout time, lassie!"

"N-N-No! K-K-K-Kurogasa i-i-is j-just a f-friend!" Megumi blushed as she began to stutter uncontrollably.

"Y-Yeah, we're just friends…" Kurogasa stuttered.

"Haha, ouch I can see the hurt in the boy's eyes!" The teen joked patted Kurogasa's back.

"Oi, oi, oi…" Kurogasa sweat dropped. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Ah, sorry, name's Tide… say something funny and I'll cut off a finger!" The teen brought out a large knife with a smile.

"Tide-kun, stop threatening my friends!" Megumi squeaked.

"Right, sorry Megu's!" Tide laughed out loud, "Seriously, you'll act like that too if people make jokes about my occupation and name."

"And… how do you know Megumi-chan?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, she knows my dad in her town!" Tide said jabbing his thumb at her. "So she's basically family."

"Ah, I see."

"So what brings you here Megu's?" Tide asked. "I know you don't visit here for pleasantries."

"Kuro-kun and I are looking for some fish for a Shokugeki he has coming up."

"Sho… what? Ohh, those cooking things!" Tide bonked his fist into an open palm. "So what's your taste? Devilfish? Whitefish? C'mon, tell me!"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Kurogasa answered.

"…Your boyfriend's a dud Megu's…" Tide said with deadpan expression.

"I said he's not my boyfriend!" Megumi cried out comically.

"Ohh, so you like someone else? Hohoho! Tell me! Is he cute?" Tide said nudging the girl.

"E-E-Eeto… A-Ano…" Megumi stuttered.

"Yup, must be a cutie to make ya blush like that. Lucky!" The boy said with a huge grin.

"T-Tide-kun!" Megumi blushed.

"Anyway, feel free to look around. My boat caught pretty much a little bit of everything, so look around, oh and you get a discount for being Megu's little cupid!" The boy said kindly as he grabbed the girl in a headlock.

"Itai, itai, ita~i…!" Megumi whined comically.

"Hahahaha!"

Kurogasa looked around and took his time eyeing everything in his sights. Tide wasn't kidding, his area did have nearly every fish for traditional style of Japanese cooking and then some.

"But which one to pick…" Kurogasa muttered.

"Yo, Ryo-chan!" Tide yelled.

"Hm?" Kurogasa and Megumi blinked as they turned to see a young man with a well built body. His notable traits include a long, unkempt brownish black hair and bangs that framed his face and hung just above his chin and his red eyes which has bags around them, giving him a wild appearance overall. For the most part, his makes him appear lazy, slow, and disheveled. As of now, he wore a dark colored tank-top, blue jeans, and black shoes. He also has a long, flame patterned crimson bandana tied around his right wrist.

"Uh… did… the miss get her fish today?" The boy asked almost like he was half-asleep, but there was something about him that almost made him seem intimidating.

"Ah yes!" Tide said passing the boy several salmon that were still flopping. "Alive as possible!"

"Thanks… here's the payment." Ryo said passing the bills to the teen. "Going back to-"

"Wait, perhaps you can help him." Tide said looking at Kurogasa. "Poor thing is too stupid to choose what for his sushi."

"Oi, who are you calling an idiot, bakayaro?!" Kurogasa snapped.

"Says the idiot who can't make up his mind!"

"Nandato~?!" Kurogasa snarled.

"Uhh… no… the miss will kill me if I take too much time." Ryo said with a yawn.

"Oh c'mon, just pick a fish or two for him."

"Please help Kuro-kun!" Megumi said.

"Kuro…? Like Kurogasa?"

"Eh? You know me?" Kurogasa blinked.

"…I'll help…" Ryo said with a tired look. "What kind of sushi are you planning to make?"

"Huh? Oh uh… mmmmmmm… let me see." Kurogasa searched his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "Here. Just some I can use to test out."

"Okay…" Ryo said looking at the list. "Put this on my tab Tide…" The boy said getting a paper bag, "This… that… some of this… and this, in case he throws away the other one…"

"Wow, I haven't seen Ryo-chan do much work in a while." Tide chuckled.

"Here you go… this should be enough…" Ryo said, putting the seafood in Kurogasa's ice filled cooler.

"T-Thanks." Kurogasa said, rather surprised, before bowing, "I'll put them to good use."

"You owe me… one." Ryo said, "If the miss asked… you better back me up."

"Right. I'll do that." Kurogasa nodded.

"Jaa…" Ryo said, before leaving with his fish in tow, walking away lazily.

"That was certainly nice of him." Megumi said.

"Count yourselves lucky, Ryo is the most valuable customer here." Tide said.

"Well anyways, I think we got need for my sushi battle." Kurogasa grinned. "We better get going, Megumi-chan."

"H-Hai!" Megumi nodded before the two left.

"Kay… Ku's and Megu's! Come back anytime!" Tide said with a loud yell.

* * *

After Fumio picked them up from the Tsukiji Market, Megumi and Kurogasa came back to the Academy, but waiting for them at the entrance to the Academy were… Nao, Erina, and Isshiki?

"Nao? Erina? Isshiki-senpai?" Kurogasa blinked. "What are you all doing here?"

"We came to help you!" Isshiki stated.

"Help him? How?" Megumi asked.

"Taste testing." Erina said bluntly.

"Ah," Kurogasa laughed nervously.

"I'll do what I can." Nao said.

"Also…" Isshiki said, before he went into his Elite Ten persona. "Consider this as my test for you. Not as your senpai, but as a member of the Elite Ten."

"!" Kurogasa gasped slightly, clenching his fist. _'Calm down, Kuro… you're okay. You got this.'_

"Saa… are you up to the task?" Isshiki asked.

"…" Kurogasa remained silent before nodding with determination, "Let's do this."

"Follow me." Erina narrowed her eyes before she turned around to leave with everyone else following her.

* * *

"Mazui."

 ***SMASH!***

Erina dropped the plate on the floor, glaring at it as if it talked smack about her mother.

"That's the fifteenth one." Nao said with a sad frown.

"Dang…" Kurogasa gritted wiping the sweat of his forehead. "This is getting frustrating…"

For the last hour Kurogasa has been making sushi for the three with Nao, Isshiki, and Erina tasting them, while the former of the two liked it… Erina keeps rejecting them.

"Where am I going wrong with this?" Kurogasa sighed covering his face with his hands as he bent over on the table with his elbows on it.

"While the rice cooked well… it's lacking something. Not to mention the fact that the fish and the rest of the insides of the sushi are lacking in harmony." Erina said as if speaking a simple fact.

"And I worked hard on that one too…" Kurogasa pouted.

"Doesn't seem like it to me." Erina said cruelly. "Besides, I can't help it if I'm critical about these things."

"?" Kurogasa said, as he went back down Memory Lane.

* * *

 **Flashback - 10 years ago**

 _"Mazui!" a five-year old girl pouted as she pushed away a plate of food after trying it._

 _"Ehhhhhhhh?!" A young Kurogasa gawked. "It's not good?!"_

 _"The taste is horrible, the flavor is completely off, and it's not worth eating!" The girl pouted._

 _"Seriously, Na-chan?" The boy sighed in defeat. "Mou, I worked hard on that too."_

 _"…Sorry Ku-kun, I can't help it." The girl apologized with sincerity._

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"H-Hey, what are you looking at me like that for?" Erina got out.

"Huh? Oh, sorry…" He apologized. "Somehow that felt nostalgic,"

"Nostalgia isn't going to make a better chef, hurry up and make the next one." Erina said waving at Kurogasa like he was her servant.

"Hai, hai…" Kurogasa sighed before proceeding to make the next one.

For this kind of sushi, he used ten Farm Raised, U.S. White Shrimp, five pieces of asparagus, one avocado, five sticks of imitation crab meat, one lemon, one bunch of green onions, one package of bamboo skewers, two cups of flour, one egg, one package of panko, one small package of coconut flakes, unsweetened, Shichimi Togarashi, two cups of seasoned sushi rice, five half-cut sheets of nori, and garlic mayo.

He worked diligently on making the sushi and after a while, it was done.

"Here, try this one. Heaven's Roll." Kurogasa said, presenting the said sushi to them.

"Trying to keep up your heavenly dishes?" Isshiki chuckled.

"Well, it helped Nao break from her… uh, possession, so-to-speak." Kurogasa said sheepishly.

The girl in question blushed at the memory, "Thank you…"

"Anyways, try it out." Kurogasa said.

"You two try it, I'd rather not have another failure." Erina sighed.

"Oh come now, Erina-san. Don't be like that." Isshiki smiled friendly. "One more try couldn't hurt, right?"

"I'll eat, when you two approve it." Erina declared with absolution in her tone.

"It looks like she won't budge on this." Isshiki said with a chuckle.

"W-We might as well." Nao said, before picking up a piece with her chopsticks, as did Isshiki. When they did…

* * *

 _Nao and Isshiki's imagination took off as they were suddenly standing on clouds, and from afar they could see an ancient city with diamonds adorning them and they shone bright as the sun. They look to see flowers and beautiful crystals being formed, creating a natural statute of them._

 _"It's so…" Nao said in awe._

 _"So…" Isshiki got out._

 _"SO~ HEAVENLY!" They said in unison as the light got brighter and brighter, engulfing them._

* * *

Erina went slack jaw at watching the two glow and sparkle, "…" She didn't respond as she knew that Kurogasa must have gotten a good recipe. Though she _is_ surprised with Isshiki. He was never _this_ bliss.

"Erina-sa~n… you should try i~t." Isshiki sighed in content.

"Try i~t." Nao said dreamily swaying side-to-side.

"Ah…" Erina was slack-jawed again as her eye twitched.

"Well?" Kurogasa prompted.

"Don't push it." Erina warned him as she used her chopsticks to pick up the last piece. She gently and carefully inspected her food making note of the ingredients that she can see, which seemed normal enough… the presentation of the sushi, decent. And as for the taste, when she placed it inside her mouth…

* * *

 _Just like Isshiki and Nao she was suddenly_ _standing on clouds, and from afar she could see an ancient city with diamonds adorning them and they shone bright as the sun. She looked to see flowers and beautiful crystals being formed, creating a natural statute of her… and Kurogasa…_ 'This flavor… what is this?' _She thought._ 'It's like… like…'

* * *

"Erina?" Kurogasa waved his hand in front of her, only getting an empty gaze… "I think there was too much Heaven in that roll…" He sweat dropped, then looked at the other two, still also in blissful modes… yeah too much Heaven.

"H-Huh?!" Erina said, managing to snap out of it and slapped her cheeks to get back to reality.

"Oh, looks like you're used to it or something." Kurogasa said in slight shock. Not long after Isshiki and Nao managed to snap out of it as well and return to reality. "Oh good… you're all back to earth." He chuckled. "So how was it?"

"It was good… really, really good." Nao said.

"Yeah it was… though…" Isshiki started, "For sushi Shokugekis you need the minimum of five different types." The older boy said.

…

…

…

…

"What?" Kurogasa blinked.

"It's true." Erina said. "I admit that this is one of your best dishes yet." She then glowered. "But this is only one type of sushi that passes my palate, and you only have four more to go."

"Great…" Kurogasa groaned, slumping down.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get them all." Isshiki nodded. "Just keep doing what you're doing."

"Right." Kurogasa sighed before slapping his cheeks. "Okay, let's do this!"

* * *

The next day…

 ***KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK***

"K-Kurogasa. You in here?" Megumi called out from outside the waiting room.

"Yeah, come in." Kurogasa said from the other side. Megumi opened the door to reveal Kurogasa with his trolley of ingredients. There was also one other person. He had a typical anime-styled black pompadour and a pencil mustache and his hair was held together with tape for some reason. He also wore a black leather jacket with a white shirt, black pants and brown shoes, which gives him the overall look of a Bōsōzoku.

"Oh, hey Megumi-chan." Kurogasa greeted. "Came to see me off too?"

"N-Not the kind of seeing you off when you get expelled, if that's what you mean."

"Haha I know, so where's Soma?"

"He's with everyone else. Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yep. More than ever." Kurogasa nodded before he looked at the third guy. "Oh, you must be the leader of the Don RS, am I right?" Kurogasa asked.

"Hai…" The older teen said dejectedly… even his hairdo seem to be limping downwards. "Kanichi Konishi."

"Hey, what's with you senpai? Didn't your Don RS get spared thanks to Soma? You should be happy." Kurogasa said confused.

"Yes and I'm grateful but… that Miyoko girl…" Konishi said. "She's someone you don't want to mess with."

"Yes, she scares me too." Megumi shivered.

"She's the one that started all this, so I have to end it." Kurogasa said.

"But t-t-there's so many people." Megumi stuttered before going into her habit of writing on her hand with her finger. "D-Don't be nervous, okay?"

"Ah don't worry about them." Beatrix said appearing from the ceiling.

"GAH! What are you doing up _there_?!" Kurogasa freaked out as did the others.

"Hey, I'm a backwater expert, I learn to come from anywhere and nowhere." The girl said with odd pride. "So please win… cause I made huge bets."

"Hey! No gambling on your friends!" Kurogasa snapped.

"How about a no? You have landslide victories!" The girl said as she looked at Megumi. "Here, take these." She passed the girl some pills that were white, "Those are for stage fright."

"Hey-"

"Don't worry, those are sugar pills, in case I can't get an emergency supply of glucose man!" Beatrix whispered to Kurogasa. "Placebo effect, hehe!"

"…It's up to you Megumi-chan." Kurogasa sighed knowing one way or another that it was Megumi's choice.

"No thank you." She said passing the bottle back to Beatrix. "I'll be fine w-without it."

"Anyway, you got a plan with the sushi battle?" The sweet maker asked the boy who nodded. "Good because I roped in experts to help with the battle hehe."

"Who?" Everyone asked as the girl was about to say until she looked at the clock.

"You'll see. Ja ne~!"

"Sometimes I can't figure out that girl. Anyways, I'll see you guys later." Kurogasa waved off before leaving the waiting room. "Wish me luck."

* * *

"Beatrix?" Shiki said as he saw his friend walking to him and dorm mates, "Where were you?"

"Dropping off the guest… or should I say guests." The girl giggled.

"Guests? Who?" Shiki asked.

"Oh you'll see." Beatrix giggled.

"Ladies and gentleman! The administration has deemed this match an official Shokugeki!" Urara winked.

"Urara-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Most of the boy cheered.

"Now, the contestants will be coming in from the each corner!" The girl lifted her right arm to where Kurogasa is coming from as the titantron screen on top for all to see showed his name with a blue fiery background.

 **枢木黒笠** **  
**Kurogasa Kururugi

"In the blue corner, once again, we have The Conqueror! Kurogasa Kururugi!" Urara announced as Kurogasa walked towards the arena with his chef uniform on and approached the kitchen stadium with his ingredients in tow. Then his opponent's name showed on the Titantron with the red fiery background.

 **北条美代子** **  
**Miyoko Hojo

"And in the red corner, we have the heir of Hojoro, Miyoko Hojo!" Urara announced as Hojo arrived from the other corner wearing a red cheongsam approaching the kitchen stadium with her ingredients as well.

"And now to run through the conditions. The theme is Sushi. And for this battle, the time limit is one hour! If Kurogasa wins, Miyoko will join the soon-to-be Sushi RS that will be established by approval from Erina-sama. However, if Miyoko wins, Kurogasa will have to be submissive to everything she says, even after graduating." Urara said.

"Ohh…" Beatrix stomped her feet childishly. "Come on, hurry!"

"What is up with you, Bea?" Shiki asked.

"Yeah, you've been like a little kid getting a new video game console." Ryoko said with a smile.

"And now to introduce our guest judges!" Urara announced, but all of a sudden, all the lights in the stadium went out.

"Hey! What's going on?!"

"Who turned out the lights?!"

"I can't see!"

"WHOO-HOO!"

"Erina-sama, what's-" Hisako got out.

"I don't know." Erina said, also confused.

 **"YOMIGAERU, IRON CHEEEEEEEEEEF!"**

Then all of a sudden… without warning, epic music accompanied by an epic choir started echoing in the arena.

"No way…" Hojo and Kurogasa said in unison shock as three spotlights shown on three portraits of famous men who suddenly rose from where the judges sat. One chef wore a red chef jacket with red pants and a tall red torc blanque while holding a pear. Another wore a silver version of the uniform but had a skull cap for a chef hat with his hands on his hips. And the last one had a yellow version of the uniform but had a yellow torc blanque that was puffed at the end and was holding a cleaver.

"Wait a second… that voice…" Shiki said… before looking at Beatrix. "Who _didn't_ you bring!?"

"Making their ascent towards Kitchen Stadium the men who dominated the culinary landscape of Japan, your guest judges and Iron Chefs!" A male announcer said. "Iron Chef Chinese: Chen Kenichi, Iron Chef French: Hiroyuki Sakai, and Iron Chef Japanese: Masaharu Morimoto! Hear they stand, the invincible men of culinary skills!"

"…" The whole stadium was in silence as the epic song ended and another man rose next to Urara, "And I as Guest MC, Takeshi Kaga, will be here to commentate on this glorious battle!"

"NO WAY!"

"The Iron Chefs?!"

"This is crazy!"

"They're guest judges!"

"Even Takeshi Kaga is there!"

The entire arena was in an uproar while the Polar Star group could only look on in shock and disbelief.

"…How…" Everyone looked at Beatrix.

"I know people~"

"Great… more pressure…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Hmph this is perfect." Hojo said with a light chuckle. "I will beat you so bad in front of these masters."

"I won't fail." Kurogasa said firmly.

"Okay… Kurogasa!" Takeshi looked at the boy, "Are you ready?"

"Hai!" Kurogasa acknowledge the man.

"Good… Miyoko, are you ready?" The guest MC said as Urara just gaze over him.

"Hai!" Hojo nodded.

"Then…" Takeshi began.

…

…

…

…

"ALLEZ CUISINE!"

 ***DING! DING! DING!***

* * *

 **食戟**  
Shokugeki

 **枢木黒笠** **vs.** **北条 美代子**  
Kurogasa Kururugi vs. Miyoko Hojo

 **Theme:** Sushi

As Kurogasa and Hojo went to work on their sushi, Takeshi walked to his Iron chefs who were seated and stood next to them, "Morimoto-san." The MC asked the Japanese chef, looking at Kurogasa. "As the victor of a Sushi battle, what are you looking for in this battle?"

Morimoto chuckled, "Ah, Takeshi-san that was a long time ago, but yes I would like to see Edo-style sushi. That is my favorite."

"How so?"

"Because being traditional is often the best way, while I admit I am quite an unpredictable man and use new generation cooking, I still admire it." Morimoto said with a soft smile. "But of course that means that doesn't mean I oppose in any other style more high than Edo."

"I wouldn't think so." Takeshi said with a nod. Takeshi moved toward to Kurogasa's kitchen smiling at the young man, "Kurogasa, any plans on making Sushi or are you winging it?"

"I'm not winging anything today, Chairman. I plan to make sushi that will surely have you entering Paradise. I promise you that."

"Bold words Kurogasa-san. But I can see you full of absolute confidence!" Takeshi laughed lightly, "If you can any hints on what kind of style are you using? That is if its alright with you."

"I'm going to be showing you all kinds of styles today."

"Hoo, not one style I see…" Takeshi rubbed his chin with a raised eyebrow. "Very gutsy, you would be a excellent Iron Chef one day. Hahaha…"

"Thank you Chairman, but for now I'll stick with my education." Kurogasa said.

"As you wish," Takeshi said as he went to Hojo Miyoko. "Miss Miyoko, might I ask what you are making for my Iron Chefs?"

"I'll be making sushi that will surely pack a punch to your taste buds."

"Ah! Good I hope so my Iron Chefs are dying for something like that, I heard you are a student under Chinese style cooking right? Like my Iron Chef Chen?"

"I am. In three styles. Szechuan, Cantonese, and Zhejiang."

"Amazing and at such a young age!" Takeshi said with a proud smile, "I say Chen, you might be want to be careful against Miss Hojo!"

The Chinese master of the Iron Chef just gave a light chuckle, "I will Chairman."

Takeshi returned to the judge table as Morimoto spoke, "I think Kurogasa might have an edge in this battle."

"How so?" Hiroyuki asked.

"Well during my time in America, I met Kurogasa-san's teacher. If Kurogasa-san is indeed that man's student, then he has an edge in rice cooking." Morimoto said with a curt nod.

"I see." Hiroyuki nodded. "But I wouldn't count out Hojo-san just yet."

"True, don't forget that Chinese cooking and Japanese do use rice as the main ingredients in cooking, so Hojo isn't completely wiped out." Chen argued with his fellow chef.

"Sugoi… to think the Iron Chefs would be judges…" Megumi said in awe.

"Man, I gotta hang out with you more Bea!" Soma grinned.

"Nope~!" Beatrix lifted her head like an upper-crust woman. "Only girls… and Shiki can hang out with me."

"What a way to give the cold shoulder…" Shiki sweat dropped.

"Though really how do you know them?" Ryoko asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, I thought Gordon Ramsay was the only guy you knew." Yuki added.

"Eh, Mama is friends with nearly a lot of famous people." Beatrix gave the hand gesture for 'so-so', "So I know them when I was a wee lass."

"Dare I ask who?" Marui fixed his glasses.

"Just the cooking world… to my knowledge."

"That's being broad…" Shun commented.

"Trust me… she meant nearly all of them." The alcoholic user said with a raised hand, "Though you wouldn't guess it by her name hehe…"

"Shiki…" Beatrix warned the boy.

"Saa, what will you do now, Kurogasa-kun?" Isshiki said to himself. "The pressure has never been this high."

"I-I-I-hope Kurogasa will be okay." Megumi said worried.

"He'll be fine." Soma grinned. "If I could beat Nikumi-chan, then he can beat Miyoko."

To put it in summary, Soma and Mito had a Shokugeki yesterday. The theme was Don and the ingredient was meat. As expected, Mito went ahead and use A5 Beef and made her A5 Japanese Rôti Beef Don while Soma countered with his Yukihira-Styled Evolved Chaliapin Steak Don.

When the judges tasted Mito's dish, it was exquisite as it one would expect from the Meat Master. However, when they tasted Soma's dish, they just kept eating and eating until there was no more. The secret: homemade pickled plum that was mixed into the rice. That was what gave Soma the victory and now Mito has joined the Don RS as per the agreement and Erina had her return the kitchen she was provided.

"Look!" Megumi said pointing when the chairmen is walking to Kurogasa with a light smile.

"Hoo, I see you're ready to roll your sushi."

"Yes," Kurogasa said while placing a thin amount of rice on the seaweed while cutting salmon into thin rectangular pieces. In a swift fluid motion he roll the seaweed where he got a long cylinder piece. Then cuts eight pieces into traditional circles and the rest to an angle, putting them all in different places. "A traditional Salmon roll."

For Kurogasa's next sushi, he needed four pieces of tempura shrimp, sliced cucumber, one avocado, two cups of sushi rice, two sheets of half-cut nori, sesame seeds, and two makisu one in cellophane wrapped bamboo mat and one that isn't wrapped.

First, he placed a sheet of nori on our wrapped makisu, rough side up. Next, he added roughly 2/3 cup of cooked sushi rice to the nori, making sure that he rolled the rice to each edge of the nori and that he was not smashing the rice down. Taking two pieces of shrimp, he coated him in flour, egg, and panko before he fried them in oil for a few minutes before he took them out seeing that they were golden brown. He then sliced them in half, diagonally. Then he flipped the rice mat over and place the shrimp onto the rice mat along the center, while adding a few pieces of cucumber to it as well. Then carefully, he slid his thumbs underneath the makisu and used his remaining fingers to hold the ingredients in place. He slowly rolled the rice mat over the ingredients until the edge was touching the nori side, continuing the motion.

"Look at that, he looks so fluid in his movements." Yuki said amazed.

"Is this… his true forte?" Ryoko wondered.

"Yup, he always was impossible to beat when it comes to rice." Soma said with a pout.

"I see…" Beatrix said with dark look in her. "Good to know."

"Bea~ what are you thinking?" Shiki frowned.

"In case I need to beat him, I will not shoot my own foot." The girl replied with a smirk.

"Cast off." Kurogasa said, before suddenly taking off his chef and flipping it over before wearing it like a cape. "Clock Up…" He muttered before he went fast, slicing an avocado down the center and peeling one half, before making thin slices with great precision and accuracy, slicing the avocado from top to bottom. Then using one hand to push the avocado slices to one side and the other hand to help the slices, he slid across the cutting board, spreading out the sliced avocado.

"Nani?" Hojo gasped.

"There it is." Marui got out.

"He's going fast." Shun added.

Kurogasa kept pushing the slices until he covered the length of the roll, using the roll as guide for how long he needed to stretch the avocado. He then slowly slid a knife underneath the sliced avocado and using the knife to pick up the avocado slices, he transferred it to the roll. He placed a piece of cellophane on top of the avocado and gently pressing an unwrapped makisu over the top of the roll, then sliced the caterpillar roll in half, making sure to use long, sawing motions to get through the roll. He sliced each half into four pieces, making eight pieces total before removing the cellophane and taking the four pieces to curve them into a partial circle. He then took the remaining four pieces and curve them in the other direction. To finish, he drizzled some sauce over the top, and finished it off with some sesame seeds. "There. Caterpillar Roll."

"Amazing, with such precision and speed!" Urara announced in awe while the students were murmuring amongst one another. "He has two sushi rolls ready to go in no time!"

"Ah…" Beatrix gasped, "He isn't the only one impressing people."

Her words ring true as Hojo was cracking open two urchins, then using two spoons with them facing backwards she grip it causing the first one to crack apart as the juices from inside started to spill. Carefully pulling it apart, Hojo spooned out the orange uni out and place it in cold water while also repeating for the second. Like Kurogasa she placed the uni over the rice and got a small jar of red sauce. Using a spoon she add a little amount, a pencil length worth before rolling it up.

Meanwhile, Kurogasa filled his cast iron skillet with approximately 1cm of fryer oil put it on a medium heat. After heating it up, he added one cup of flour, an egg, and one cup of ice cold water to a bowl. He whisked it until all of the lumps were dissolved before adding the remaining amount of flour into a bowl by itself. Next he unwrapped the crab sticks and placed them on a plate. Then picking up a crab stick and squeezing it with his thumbs, he made the individual lines of the crab stick separate. Holding on to one end, he gently slapped the crab stick against his other palm.

"He slapping the crab strings to separate them more easily." Isshiki commented.

"He's making those sushi like no one's business!" Daigo added.

"You really think he has a chance in winning?" Shoji wondered.

Once the strings are mostly separated, Kurogasa coated them in the flour. Then, he dipped them into the tempura batter and made sure that any excess batter was allowed to drip off. Kurogasa then gently dipped the crab strings into the hot oil, making sure to place them loosely. The goal was to try to make a web of these strings that will large enough to cover a sushi roll. He repeated the steps until he fried all of them. Once the crab strings have turned a nice golden brown, they are ready to be removed. He used a pair of large chopsticks to set the fried crab strings onto a paper towel to allow for the grease to drain.

Now he had to focus on the shrimp. First, he soaked the bamboo skewers in water for at least 5 minutes. After the skewers have soaked, he skewered the shrimp from head to tail. Then he brought a pot of water to a boil and boil the shrimp for roughly a minute.

"Kururugi-kun needs to be careful." Hisako commented.

"Yes. He needs to make sure that he didn't overcook the shrimp, because they need to be deep fried as well." Erina added.

"Kurogasa…" Nao said a bit worried.

Kurogasa then added additional oil to the skillet. And after boiling, the removed the skewers and shells. He then poured approximately two cups of panko and 1/2 cup of coconut flakes onto a plate. He mixed them until the coconut flakes are evenly distributed. Then using the same flour and tempura batter, he dipped each shrimp into the flour, making sure to shake off any excess flour, before dipping it into the batter. Then he rolled them around the coconut panko until it's completely covered. He then carefully placed each shrimp into the hot oil to fry for about ninety seconds, or until golden brown. He then removed the shrimp using a pair of tongs and allowed them to cool off on a plate with a paper towel underneath them.

Now it was time to make the roll. First he added a handful of seasoned sushi rice to his nori. Then he flipped the rice mat over and added two coconut shrimp to the center. He then noticed that the shrimp weren't quite long enough to reach the edges of the nori, so he sliced them diagonally and slid them apart just a bit. He added a piece of asparagus and a few pieces of avocado. Then rolled up your maki, placing one piece of the crab strings on top of the roll. Next he placed the makisu on top of the crab strings, firmly pressing down and formed the crab strings around the roll. Then he cut the rolls into even pieces. He then grabbed a lemon and sliced off one then slice the lemon again in half, giving it the shape of a half circle and he made a few, thin, slices of the lemon that were about 5-8 mm thick. He sliced each of those slices into pie wedges and place one wedge on each piece of the sushi. To add the finishing touch, he drizzled his special sauce, sprinkled some finely chopped green onions, and added a dash of seven spices that were already mixed in.

Hojo looks at last of fish and quickly set up the seasoned rice to her seaweed, chopping the tuna into fine small pieces as she quickly put them in a nice lineup. She then slowly rolled them into a nice square shape and cut them into the requirement amount for the chefs.

The young chefs continued making their sushi. His fourth roll involved sushi rice, nori, red snapper, tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and avocado. This was the Rainbow Roll. The other roll involved seasoned sushi rice, six sheets of half-cut nori, escolar, cucumber, avocado, spicy mayo, and eel sauce. This sushi was the Great White Roll.

Hojo continued her sushi rolls. The first one involved sushi rice, half sheets of nori, squid tubes, crawfish salad, spicy mayo, eel sauce, avocado, green onions, kewpie mayonnaise, and vegetable oil. This one was the Canyon Roll. The second involved sushi rice, nori, toasted sesame seed, snow crab, sriracha, and heavy mayonnaise. This was the Spicy Crab Roll. And the last one had sushi rice, nori, yellowtail, imitation crab, and creamy avocado, and spicy sauce. This was the Dynamite Roll.

 ***DING, DING, DING!***

"Time's up!" Urara announced as the crowd cheered.

"Clock over…" Kurogasa slightly panted as he wiped the sweat off his forehead after coming to a stop.

"And now… the tasting!" The female announcer finally said before fainting.

"Huh I guess she couldn't handle the guests appearing here." Beatrix said with a cute giggle.

"Bea, no. Don't even think about taking advantage of Urara-chan like that." Nero frowned.

"Ugh, don't joke about that, she is cute. On the outside maybe, but inside I can tell she's a tomboy." The girl paled with a disgusted look.

"Now then, will Hojo present her sushi please?" Takeshi said. The Chinese girl nodded as she brought the sushi over to the Iron Chef judges.

"Today, I prepared for you Tuna Roll, Dynamite Roll, Canyon Roll, Spicy Crab Roll, and Uni Roll." Hojo said, presenting them. "Please enjoy."

"I'm sure we will enjoy them young ma'am." Takeshi said with a small grin. "Now my Iron Chefs, shall we enjoy this meal?"

"We shall." Sakai said, before using his chopsticks to bite into the Tuna Roll. Morimoto took a bite of the Canyon Roll, while Kenichi took a piece of the Spicy Crab Roll. Takeshi then took a piece of the Dynamite Roll. They all bit into it and when they did-

All the chefs contiune to eat…

"Do… they not like it?" Megumi said odded by the scene of the older experience men of culinary arts to be so passive…

"Well they're _the_ Iron Chefs." Shun said.

"Let me put it to you this way." Beatrix said. "Would you rather see the Iron Chefs have a foodgasm?"

At that point, the whole group shuddered violently.

Takeshi smiled as he place down his chopsticks and looked at his Iron chefs, "Well do you all have a verdict?"

"I have to admit, it has the right amount of spiciness in the sushi that were supposed to be spicy." Kenichi commented.

"This Canyon Roll is nothing but great executions on the prep work to the final part." Morimoto chuckled.

"Very well done, madam." Sakai said.

"Thank you very much." Hojo bowed.

"And now would Kurogasa Kururugi please present his sushi." Urara announced. Kurogasa nodded before bringing his sushi to the chefs.

"Please enjoy." Kurogasa said before stepping back.

"My friends, let us partake in these dishes."

The Iron Chefs nodded before they started eating their Caterpillar Roll, Great White Roll, Salmon Roll, Rainbow Roll, and Heaven Roll.

"This is delicous." Sakai said with a nod. "Even though it has been follow to the perfect step, I can still taste like it's something competely different."

"If I may ask, what kind of sauces did you put in some of the sushi you made?" Morimoto asked.

Kuorgasa smirked. "Garlic Mayonnaise and Eel Sauce."

"What?" Hojo gasped.

"I see. While the sushi and fish are well done, what tied together was the sauce." Takeshi smiled, "The strong flavor of the garlic and the subtle taste of eel greatly match both in great harmony of flavor. Gentlemen?" The three Iron chefs nodded and look Kurogasa and bowed their heads to him, "Then it's agreement, Kurogasa… You are the victor of this battle."

The Iron Chefs then pressed their buttons.

 **枢** **  
** **木** **  
** **黒** **  
** **笠**

 **Winner:** Kurogasa Kururugi  
3-0

* * *

"And we have our winner! It's the Conquering Sushi Shogun, Kurogasa Kururugi!" Urara announced.

Kurogasa smiled before he said, "Welcome to Paradise!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Most of the other Polar Star Dorm members cheered as did some of the audience while other murmured amongst one another.

"He did it!" Megumi said happily.

"I told ya." Soma grinned. "No one can beat him when it comes to rice."

"Tch," Hojo glared at the floor after finishing her sushi. "I can't believe I lost."

"C'mon Hojo, don't be like that." Kurogasa said, as he approached her. "I have to admit, you had me on the ropes, and I recognize you as a strong chef. I don't know why you have to show your strength as a chef through force, but you know there are other ways besides that."

"That might be fine for you, but I have my own ways. I accept this loss, but that doesn't mean I won't give up my style." Hojo glared at Kurogasa. "Would you act like that if someone told you to let go of your style? That Heaven's Path is more than a style to you, it's a lifestyle, then so is mine."

"I never said for you to give up your style." Kurogasa shook his head. "In fact, I want you to stay true to yourself, but don't force it on others."

"Well, I guess I can accept that. I may not… appericate your harem, you _did_ win them fair and square." Hojo sighed. "Just don't make it a habit of getting more."

"They're not my harem!" Kurogasa comically snapped with a heavy blush. "A-Anyways, I'll be expecting you to come to the Sushi RS after school. Don't be late!" And with that, he stomped off grumbling about how he doesn't have a harem.

"Urk…" Hojo eye twitched, "Right, I will…"

"Well, all's well that ends well." Nero smiled.

"Yup, she's free and I can still chase her skirt!" Beatrix winked at her friend.

"You're relentless aren't you…" Ryoko sweat dropped with a sheepish smile.

Meanwhile, Erina and Hisako watched from the VIP room as the former smiled a bit.

"You look happy, Erina-sama." Hisako commented.

"Hmm? Am I?" Erina said before walking away, "Let's go, knowing Kurogasa he left aside some Sushi for me to try."

"H-Hai," Hisako said, before following her. "But… what about his Sushi RS?"

"Make sure the proper papaerwork has been filled out and have the workers start on it right away, according to his specifications. I'll send them to Ojii-sama for approval." Erina said.

"Hai, wakarimashita." Hisako nodded.

Takeshi walked up to Kurogasa with a small smile, "Mister Kurogasa, May I have a word?"

"O-Of course, Chairman. What is it?" Kurogasa asked.

"Ahahaha, please call me Takeshi. I notice you said… paradise… and the way you hold yourself in the battle, cooking, not to mention your mannerisms remind me of a friend. Are you by any chance his student?" Takeshi asked.

"Hai. He is my shishou." Kurogasa nodded.

"Ah, that is great, the young man has always battle my Iron Chefs, away from the cameras of course. I can tell you will be better chef than him one day. If you ever need anything, please call me." Takeshi gave the young boy his card that held his contacts.

"Of course… Takeshi-san." Kurogasa nodded.

"Iron Chefs! Back to our stadium!"

* * *

The next day…

Hojo walked through the halls of the Academy, as she wore her uniform. After a few minutes of walking, she arrived at the doors of the newly made Sushi RS. "I can't believe I'm gonna do this…" Hojo sighed to herself before she slid open the doors. "Excuse me." She said, but her eyes widened when she saw what was inside the club room. Inside was practically a sushi bar on one side of the room while the other side were the desks with the whiteboard on the wall, the whiteboard having a banner of officially celebrating the forming of the Sushi RS. Kurogasa was there along with Konishi, Nao, and Mito and right now they were having sushi with Kurogasa making it.

"Oh hey, you made it." Kurogasa noticed.

"Might I ask what this is?" Hojo asked.

"It's a sushi party, that's what." Kurogasa smiled a bit. "C'mon, have a seat. I'll make some for ya."

"I might as well." The girl gave a rueful smile as she sat down.

"This is great!" Konishi laughed. "We could probably make a Sushi Don out of this!"

"I… don't think that will work, senpai." Nao sweat dropped.

"Yeah, you and your ideas never work." Mito deadpanned.

"Come guys cut the guy a break, it might be a good idea. So don't make him feel too bad." Kurogasa said trying to ease the pain.

"Ohhhh, you understand me, just like Soma!" Konishi cried comically, shaking Kurogasa's shoulders.

"Okay, okay, just stop shaking me and don't get all your snot on the sushi, you're gonna contaminate the fish!" Kurogasa cried out.

"Hmph…" Hojo smirked with a hint of amusement. "This might be not so bad after all…"

* * *

 **Fen:** HA! Whaddya think of that?! The Iron Chefs appearing in this story!

 **Beatrix:** Yup, allllllllll, thanks to moi!

 **AQ:** ***Smiles and rolls eyes***

 **Fen** : Yeah, yeah, and fun fact. Queen here _actually_ knows Masaharu Morimoto in person! So bonus points there!

 **AQ:** He's really a nice guy… oww… ***Scratches throat***

 **Fen:** O_O oi, oi, easy. Here. ***gives tea***

 **AQ: *nods and bows***

 **Fen:** Anyways, that will keep you busy for a while until the next chapter. Next chapter… is a bit of a tribute to someone close to me. I'll explain next chapter.

 **AQ:** ***Listens closely***

 **Fen:** Like I said, I'll explain next chapter. So I'll see you there.


	7. Dish 7

**Fen:** Hello everyone. Fen and Queen here for another chapter of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe. And this is the tribute chapter I'm doing. Which I will explain to you who I'm tributing this chapter to.

 **AQ: *Nods***

 **Fen:** Two months ago… one of my cousins whom my sister and I were close with… his name was Ronald and he died of a heart attack. ***sniffs*** He loved eating burgers… even though what he ate was what did him in… but despite that, he was a kid at heart, a lovable big brother to me and all the cousins, loved by our family and the family loved him back…

 **AQ:** 'A moment of silence everyone…'

…

…

…

…

 **Fen:** So… this is the best way I could pay tribute to him.

 **AQ:** 'And so I supported him… so please enjoy this chapter everyone.'

 **Fen:** Kuya Ron, this one is for you! I miss you and I love you!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

In the office of Chef Roland Chapelle, said Headmaster of the French cuisine department put two fingers down on the blinds to look out the window. It was a somewhat grim day, but there was nothing he could do about it. He cares about all his students and he wants them to succeed in their lives. But fate would not allow that to happen. Tōtsuki Academy is famed for training the next generation of chefs. Only one percent of every generation can only graduate and their careers will surely be guaranteed. And on this day and for the next few days, this was not an exception.

"So… it's that time of year again…" Chapelle sighed to himself before turning his head to his fellow chef teachers. "Have the students been notified?"

"They'll be notified at the end of the day." One said.

Chapelle nodded before looking back out the window, looking down on the various buildings that the students were housing in. "There will be those who rise and fall at the Academy and this will be where their paths will diverge."

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix.  
 **(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy.  
 **(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them.  
 **(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background.  
 **(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot.  
 **(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures.  
 **(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 7:** Cherry Smoked Bacon Cheeseburger

At the Polar Star Dormitory, everyone had gathered at the cafeteria. After classes were done for the day and everyone had returned to Polar Star Dorm, they were greeted by Isshiki who was waiting for them. A pamphlet had recently came in the mail and it was very important. This pamphlet was actually about the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp.

The Training Camp, is the first hurdle that all Tōtsuki Students must go through, Students are sent to Tōtsuki Resort where they spend five days training there. The camp is supervised by some of the school instructors such as Roland Chapelle and the manager of the Resort. During the camp, students are treated like employees and if a student does not meet expectations or fails to complete a given task, they will be expelled from the academy.

"Training Camp?" Soma wondered as he picked up the pamphlet and opened it up to read.

"The time has finally come." Yuki said nervously.

"What is it?" Kurogasa asked.

"You had something like this during elementary school and junior high school, didn't you?" Ryoko asked. "It's like a camp where we all go and stay for a few nights."

"Heh~ I didn't know the school had something like that." Soma said.

"Mm? Hey, why are you shaking like that, Megumi?" Shiki asked, as she saw the said person shivering comically.

"This camp is first hurdle that all the new high-school students have to go through." Marui said seriously.

"…" Kurogasa slightly narrowed his eyes.

"All first-years will be tasked with grueling cooking projects every day in a remote location in the mountains." Yuki explained. "If we don't get a passing score, we'll be expelled immediately. They claim it's an opportunity for friendship and kinship. But in reality…"

"It's basically a merciless weeder training camp." Beatrix finished, with a slump. "This is so gonna suck… I'll screw up anything that's not a dessert…" That made Megumi shake even more comically.

"This is what Tōtsuki's education by competition looks like." Isshiki said. "The Headmaster spoke of the one percent, but this is where the selection process really begins."

"Didn't you also go to this camp last year, Isshiki-senpai?" Daigo asked.

"If I remember right, you're one of the 76 students of your generation that managed to pass your first year." Kurogasa recalled.

"That's right, Kurogasa-kun." Isshiki-senpai nodded. "Even in _my_ time, dozens get sent home and expelled everyday."

"Expelled?" Shoji asked incredulously.

"The number of students even dipped below half of what they started off with in one camp some years ago." Shun added.

"Are you serious?!" Shiki gawked. "Below half?!"

"Half…" Megumi paled as she comically fell to the ground.

"Megumi?!" Yuki panicked.

"I'm so glad I got to meet you all up until now…" Megumi said, before closing her eyes and tilting her head.

"MEGUMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Yuki shouted to the heavens.

"Oh relax, she's fine." Beatrix waved off.

"What are you talking about?! She's practically on her deathbed!" Yuki snapped.

"Shiki?" Beatrix said as the boy sighed.

"Fine~" He whined as he walked up to Megumi pulling a bottle out that held a cartoon skull and crossbones.

"Dare I ask what that is?" Kurogasa's eye twitched.

"It ain't my booze, it's…" Shiki and Beatrix look at each as they in unison, "You don't wanna know." Shiki then poured a cup and brought it to Megumi's lips. The moment it went into her lips, Megumi shot straight up.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Megumi shrieked, running around like a lunatic.

"Shiki, what the heck man?!" Kurogasa snapped. "What did you give her?!"

"You… don't… wanna… know…" The alcoholic master said to the rice master.

"It's a special punishment we used when we need to use it." Beatrix said with a creepy grin.

"Let me see it!" Kurogasa said, grabbing the bottle and read the label. "What _is_ this?! Ginger ale, coffee with milk, plum-flavored seaweed tea, chestnut juice, raw egg, spicy bbq sauce, chipotle mayonnaise, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and habanéro pepper sauce?! You're even worse than Soma!"

"…" Beatrix move behind Kurogasa and… suddenly force fed the drink to the teen! "GYAHAHAHAHA! That's for taking the cute girls!"

"GRAOAGHROAHAGHAGROGAHROHAGHROHAGHROOAGGHRHGAOAO!" Kurogasa yelled as he was being force fed and after swallowing the whole thing-

 ***THUD!***

-he fainted.

"Kurogasa!" Ryoko panicked, rushing to his fallen form to check on him. "Beatrix, that wasn't nice of you!"

"That's what he gets for taking all the cute girls! Including you!"

"…" Shiki looked at Megumi who nodded to him with a cute glare. "Yo Beatrix."

"Yes- GOOP!" The girl said as she drank the same bottle that Kurogasa drank. She stood there as she smacked her lips. "Hmm… needs beef jerky for that puke reaction."

"Wow, you make worse stuff than me." Soma laughed.

"Thanks~!" The girl chipped before glaring at the boy. "HEY!"

"Anyway, the camp will be three days from now." Isshiki said, getting their attention again. "I know all of you will succeed and be coming back to the Polar Star Dormitory with smiles. So do your best minna!"

"YEAH!" The Polar Star students cheered, save for Kurogasa who was still out of it.

"Should we take Kurogasa to the hospital?" Soma said pointing to the spirit of Kurogasa sitting next to his body.

* * *

Three days later…

It was now the day of the camp, after preparations were made, all of the students woke up bright and early, changed into their uniforms, packed their suitcases, and bags and went straight to the bus loops where hundreds of buses were waiting. After they all loaded up, the buses drove them to their destination. It would be an hour before they arrived in the mountains. And when they got off, they were amazed at the sights.

In front of them was a 30-story hotel and surrounding them were inns, villas, and summer resorts.

"Ho… ly… crap…" Kurogasa gawked.

"This… is where we're staying at?" Megumi got out.

"Sugeeeeeeei!" Daigo and Shoji cried out.

"Guess this school isn't full of rich kids for nothing. They even run a big hotel." Soma scoffed.

"All the hotels and inns here are run by Tōtsuki." Shun said.

"Heh, doesn't surprise me." Soma scoffed.

"They manage a dozen or so accommodations as part of the Totsuki Resort Brand, and graduates often end up working in the resort's culinary division." Marui explained.

"I hear it costs about 80,000 yen per night at these places." Shun added.

"That's about a month's rent!" Yuki gawked.

"It doesn't surprise me!" Soma yelled with wide eyes and a stiff smile although his eyes had veins in them.

"You're totally surprised, Soma…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Eh," Beatrix shrugged her shoulders, "That's like… me with a free afternoon and tons of girls worth of money."

"Still, I hope we could survive through all of this." Ryoko said.

"Aren't we all." Shun said before walking forward. "Let's go. We have to go to an assembly as soon as we drop off our bags."

"He's sure full of excitement…" Shiki muttered before the rest followed.

After dropping off their bags at the lobby, they all headed to an assembly room where all the students of the 92nd generation were waiting. However, the atmosphere was rather gloomy as some were sitting, hunched down while other were looking around nervously.

"It's too quiet… It's hard to believe that nearly a thousand students are here." Ryoko commented.

"That's right. We're about to start the camp of hell." Yuki added. "Just how many of us will survive?"

"Huh? Oh hey, Nikumi!" Soma waved towards the tan-skinned girl who flinched before she turned around to see him.

"Y-Yukihira!?" The blonde tan girl looked back with a bright pink blush.

"Been a while, Nikumi!" The red head teen said lazily.

"You're too relaxed, Soma." Yuki sweat dropped.

"Hey, Yukihira-kun! Why are you even giving her a nickname?" Ryoko asked.

"What? She doesn't mind. Right, Nikumi?" Soma said.

"Of course not!"

"What? I bet you!" Soma joked as he laughed out loudly.

"The transfer student…" One seethed.

"Soma Yukihira…" Another added as some stared at him with threatening eyes.

"He's here too. The Conquering Sushi Shogun."

"Kurogasa Kururugi."

"…" Kurogasa suddenly felt nervous when some of the students stared at him.

"You two need to be careful." Mito said softly, "It seems you guys are their targets to beat."

"Good morning, students!" A familiar chef announced as Chapelle walked across the stage with a microphone in hand before facing the students. " I will now give the summary of the camp. You are scheduled to stay here for six days and five nights. In that time, you'll split into several groups and take on daily cooking tasks. Students whose instructors evaluations fall below a certain baseline will be failed, sent back to the academy, and face immediate expulsion."

Megumi gulped at that.

"As for how your tasks will be evaluated, we have invited guest lecturers." Chapelle continued. "They are Totsuki Alumni who graciously accepted to join us, despite their busy and tight schedule." All the students murmured amongst each other as various men and women who were the top chefs in their class walked across the stage to face them. These alumni were the best of the best.

One alumni then took a sniff. He had coral-colored hair that comes to his neck, with bangs parted to the left. He also has a prominent undercut on his right side. His left ear is pierced with a silver hoop earing and he wears glasses over his amber colored eyes and wore a standard Chef's uniform with a red neckerchief. "You there. Nine rows back, the boy with a scar on your eyebrow."

"Hm?" Soma pointed at himself.

"Ah, warui, warui. I meant the one next to you."

"Eh?" The student pointed at himself.

"Yes, you." He said, before adding, "You're expelled. You can go home now."

"Nani?!" Kurogasa got out surprised, as were the others.

"Your hair product has a citrus scent." the alumni said as he stepped down the steps and walked towards that student. "It interferes with the aroma of food. We do need to pay attention to our style. If the chefs has no sense of style, their dishes will lose their appeal, but you should choose an unscented hair product from now on."

"Wait! I'm getting expelled just for _that_?!" The student protested.

" _Just_ that can be enough to lose your customers." He said before turning around with a sinister look. "Are you looking to destroy my restaurant?" He asked darkly before the student was finally scared out of his wits. The alumni smirked before turning and walking away. "Au revoir, student." He said, making the said student slump.

"No way… just like that?" Shiki asked shocked.

"Gh…" Kurogasa gritted, as he clenched his fist tightly, slightly trembling. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see who placed it there. "R-Ryoko?"

"Don't worry, you can do this." She said with a kind smile, "We're here with you." Ryoko said as the others also smiled and waved at Kurogasa for support.

"Mm… you're right." Kurogasa nodded slightly, able to calm down a little bit.

"Who is that?" Soma asked Marui.

"Chef Kojiro Shinomiya!" Marui said in awe. "He's the first Japanese chef in France to win the French Pluspol Award!" He then saw a woman who had short bluish gray hair stopping just below her ears. Her eyes are sharp, but slack compared to most other female characters. She wears a typical Italian chef's uniform and a neckerchief. "That's chef Fumiya Mizuhara, owner and head chef of Ristorante F!" He then saw a man with dark hair and his eyes remained shut. Unlike the others who used modern chef uniforms, Hitoshi is often seen in the Japanese cuisine chef uniform and wears wooden clogs. "And that's Hitoshi Sekimori, owner and sushi chef of Ginza Hinora!"

"Sugoi… they're all people featured in magazines every month!" Megumi gasped.

"Girl who's innocent like a white clover!" A man said with suave in his voice. They turned to see a man who has blonde medium-length layered hairstyle which exposed his forehead. He has a tall stature and a cleft chin wearing a chef uniform and a neckerchief.

"That's Chef Donato Gotoda, head chef of the auberge, Tesoro!" Marui got out as Donato held Megumi's hands with a charming smile.

"You may be the reason for my existence. Why don't we talk through the night til dawn at my auberge,"

"Eh? Ano, eeto, ehhhh?!" Megumi said flustered.

"Let go of her hand, Chef Gotoda." A woman said. They turned to see a woman of average height who has a curvaceous body, dark brown hair, dark purple eyes, and an ample bust. Her bangs cover her forehead and has tresses framing her face. Her hair is secured by a ponytail which passes her right shoulder and is slung on the side. Her eyes are usually seen closed and has a smiling face. Her choice of attire is a kosode with a white hemline, which is topped with a sleeved apron; it has a large collar and has two rectangular hemlines, with the inner one having a dark color. The sleeves are puffed up which reveals a fair amount of her arms. The apron itself is a French apron, which has a round shape and ruffles on the edges. For footwear, Hinako finishes it by wearing socks and wears an okobo."

"Hinako." Gotoda said.

"That's Hinako Inui, owner and head chef of Kirinoya!" Marui said.

"I'm so sorry that you have to meet such a frightening man." Hinako cooed holding Megumi's hand, as Megumi was still weirded out. "You're very cute, by the way." She added, holding her cheek. "I'm sure you'd be _very_ good to eat…"

"Ehehehehe… I like her already… maybe this might be not so bad after all." Beatrix said.

"Bea~?" Shiki frowned.

"Hinako. Chapelle-sensei's glaring at us." Donato said as they turned to see Chapelle doing just that.

"Oh." Hinako said, before the two left, but not before she said to Megumi, "Come visit my restaurant some time!"

"AHHHHHHHHHH! That's the man who was first in his graduating class after scoring the highest in Tōtsuki's history in the graduation exam!" Marui freaked out as a man with short brown hair, noticeably sharp eyes, and his eyebrows resemble sideways "V's" stepped up. As a staff of the Tōtsuki Group, he is in his business suit as he is one of the administration and the behalf of the representative from his workplace. "He turned down 800 or so offers from high-caliber restaurants from around the world to take his current position as the Head Chef and Company Director of the resort! Chef Gin Dojima!"

The students all murmured amongst one another as another top class chef had appeared to them.

"This is incredible!" Marui said, getting teary-eyed. "All of the star chefs leading Japan's culinary world are lined up!"

"Welcome to my Tōtsuki Resort." Gin introduced as he spoke into the microphone. "Each of the alumni who have gathered here today are chefs who own their own restaurants. For the next six days of the training camp, we will treat you like we would our own staff. Do you understand what that entails? Those of you who cannot perform to our expectations…" he said, motioned his thumb across his neck. "You're fired, meaning expulsion. As you may have already seen, you may be dismissed at the drop of a hat depending on these lecturers. I wish you all the best of luck. Now proceed to your groups."

With that, the students started dispersing.

"You guys better come back alive, you hear?!" Kurogasa shouted to the other Polar Star members.

"Yeah, yeah…" Beatrix said though for once had a serious face. _'Might wanna go serious for once.'_

"We will, you do the same." Shiki said walking away as place his flask away, making Kurogasa gasp softly seeing the two playful chefs finally going serious.

"We may be split, but we'll all come back. I'm sure of it." Ryoko assured.

"Oh, and we're having a card game in Marui's room!" Soma reminded.

"Why does it always have to be mine?!" Marui snapped comically.

Soon all of the students have left including the alumni, leaving Gin standing alone.

* * *

The students were separated into ten groups of one hundred and each group went to a training site. For the next six days, each group will be with two special guest lecturers per day. As for Kurogasa, his group was at Training Site I, where there was a cooking station that was American diner themed.

"Huh… kinda like the place." Kurogasa commented as he looked around.

"Looks like you won't have to be alone in this." A familiar voice said, turning around to see the familiar violet-haired girl.

"Ryoko? You're here too?" Kurogasa asked a bit surprised.

"Mhmm." Ryoko smiled. "I told you we're here for you, didn't I?"

"Ehehe… yeah, you're right." Kurogasa laughed sheepishly.

"Well, well, never thought I'd see you here." Another familiar voice said, as Kurogasa and Ryoko turned around to see two familiar girls.

"E-Eh? Erina? Hisako-san?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Greetings." Hisako bowed kindly, "I see you're still around." …And like that, the hate flows back in.

"Uh… yeah, I suppose." Kurogasa said sheepishly, before turning to Erina. "I guess we'll be getting through this first trial together, huh."

"…ahehehe…" Ryoko chuckled weakly at the hate that Hisako gave to Kurogasa. "It's good to meet you two, I'm Ryoko-"

"Hello my students."

The four of them turned to see, a… very unremarkable man, he look plain as a extra for TV show. He had short black hair, of Asian heritage giving his looks which wasn't old or young. What was odd was the teacher was wearing a kimono and holding a pot.

"Who's that?"

"Beats me."

"Is he really an alumni?"

"You three are expelled," The teacher said, "Those who cannot respect those who master the ways of their talents shouldn't be in the same path." Shocking the three that were talking smack about him, before they slumped and walked out of the classroom.

"!" Kurogasa's eyes slightly widened. _'That sounds familiar… why… what in the-'_ At that point, Kurogasa started doing sign language at the teacher. _'Shishou, what are you doing here?!'_

"Young man, what are you doing? Are your hands in pain?" The teacher asked with worry in his tone.

"Eh? I-Iiya, they're fine." Kurogasa said, looking away, putting his hands down. _'Dang it, he's playing me!'_

"Now today the goal was to make rice and make ten different meals… under thirty minutes." The teacher said as everyone yelled at the challenge. "But… I have an idea… those who do not want to do that difficult task will have an option 2."

"Option 2?" Erina raised an delicate eyebrow.

"Yes, miss honey color." The teacher yawned causing the girl to glare at the man, "The light of the sun," The man started to explain. "Has given us the gift of food, light, and warmth. So I will have you all make… the perfect hamburger."

"Hamburger?" The students asked.

"That's right. A hamburger." The teacher said. "The sun gives life to plants which are the grain and vegetables for the burger and the warmth allows the cattle to live and become the meat. So I will make you respect the sun by making you all work on this challenge. I met an old man who had a very deep hate for many things, but his love for something that had the balance of earth's blessings gave him hope." The teacher said as he took a piece of chalk, "So now this is your task!"

 _Option A: 10 meals for Rice. Success rate: 10%_

 _Or_

 _Option B: Burgers. Success Rate: ?%_

"I will leave you to choose which ones, now work!" The teacher said as he sat on his chair.

"O… kay, so what do we do?" Ryoko asked.

"Normally, I'd choose Option A since I was used to those kinds of challenges before I came to the Academy." Kurogasa said, "But… given the circumstances, I might have to go for Option B."

"Are you even sure you want to do that?" Hisako asked.

"Of course. After all," Kurogasa smirked with a wink. "People can become stronger through adventures."

"Hmph…" The teacher grunted at those words.

"Did… he laugh?" Ryoko asked as she looked at unmoving teacher. "Or a better question is, is he still alive?"

"I'm not sure." Erina frowned. "In any case, if you're adamant with this Kurogasa, I suppose I can give you a test while we're here."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Kurogasa asked confused.

"I am rather curious on how far your abilities go, so how about this? We make him," Erina pointed to the teacher not realizing he was walking towards them. "Judge our burgers, and if I win… hmm, you'll be my lackey."

"E-Excuse me?" Kurogasa asked rather flabbergasted.

"His… lackey?" Ryoko blinked.

"Ho, ho, what do we have here?" The teacher chuckled, scaring the four students. "It seems you two have a little competition."

"Uh… sort of?" Kurogasa said unsure.

"You will allow this." Erina said before slowly feeling a certain emotion… fear… although compared to _him_ , it wasn't that bad.

"Erina-sama?" Hisako tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"

"And do you think I would bend to the will of a girl?" The teacher said with small smile on his face, no malice or any negative emotion, it was just a smile.

"Uh… please?"

"Okay then."

"Shi-" Kurogasa got out, but the teacher glared at him, making him shut up.

"Is there something wrong, young man?"

"N-No sir."

"Good, then let the competition begin." The teacher smiled before walking away.

 _'Dang it, you're really enjoying this, aren't you?'_ Kurogasa growled in his thought.

"That was weird." Erina spat out getting her bearings together. "Very well, let's start cooking."

"Uh… right." Kurogasa blinked.

* * *

Meanwhile…

At Training Site F, Soma and Megumi were amongst that group. And for their instructor of the day, it was going to be Hinako Inui, an alumunus of the 80th generation. During her time at Tōtsuki, she became known as the "Mist Empress", and held the 2nd Seat of the Elite Ten Council by the end of her enrollment. After leaving Tōtsuki, Hinako moved on and became the head chef and owner of the Japanese restaurant, Kirinoya.

"It seems you're all here." Hinako greeted as she and the group of studernts were in a cooking classroom. She had a microphone so everyone could hear her. "In my class, you'll be working in pairs. You'll be in the same pairs as in the first practicum of the semester. Please go to your workstations."

"Soma-kun, I'm so glad we get to pair up again!" Megumi cried with anime tears, running in place to him.

"Yeah, let's give it a whirl." Soma said.

"Soma Yukihira, is it?" A voice asked. Soma and Megumi turned around to see Takumi Aldini and his portly twin brother Isami.

"Yeah?" Soma said.

 ***STOMP!***

Takumi grinned as he kept grinding his foot which Soma noticed. "Since you've been grinding your foot onto mine for over ten seconds, I guess I can assume it's intentional."

"Of course." Takumi grinned competitively as Megumi could only look on with a comical frightened look. "I was wondering when I'd get to mess with you during camp, but I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to get close to you in our first task. I'll crush you, just like I did your shoe!" At that point, a spark of electricity jolted between the two boy's heads.

"A-Ano, we already know it's going to be an intense camp. W-We shouldn't be fighting on top of that…" Megumi comically freaked out.

"I can finally crush you! And once I do, Kurogasa Kururugi is next. That makes me happy, Soma Yukihira!" Takumi said.

"I see, well congratulations… I get your point, so remove your foot already!" Soma demanded.

"Ha~i, minna-san!" Hinako called out, getting everyone's attention. "I'll be sitting right here, so feel free to ask me any questions you might have."

"Eh? But we haven't recieved any instructions yet." One student said.

"Oh, is that right? Let me see…" Hianko poindered before she stood up. "Hmmm… my task for you is… use the ingredients here to make a dish that could serve as a main dish in Japanese cuisine. We're in glorious nature, right next to a clear stream! There are ingredients galore!" This surprised the students. "There are spices, condiments, and oil, not to mention cooking utensils. You are welcome to use other tools, such as fishing poles. Also, we are on private property, which is encircled by a fence. If you go beyond the fence, you're disqualified. Secure your ingredients from this limited space and prepare them. You will pass if you create a dish that I find satisfactory. You have two hours. And your time starts… now."

…

…

…

…

"Eh?! What? It's begun?!"

"You have to speak up!"

"We have to figure out what we can fish up first!"

With that, everyone darted out of the kitchen classroom and out into the wild. Except for Soma, Megumi, and the Aldini brothers who walked out.

* * *

"Okay, what to do, what to do…" Kurogasa said to himself as he had a few ingredients gathered together. "I gotta make this burger perfect."

"Hisako…" Erina said lifting her hands that made Kurogasa raise an eyebrow.

 _'That looks familiar… like a doctor… wait, doctor… no way, she can't be-'_

"Bread," Erina said as Hisako passed her bread.

"Bread."

"Kamen Rider Brave!"

"GAK!" Erina almost dropped her item face turning red as a raw meat that Hisako had in her hands. "W-What?"

"You're acting like Hiro Kagami from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid!"

"Ex-Aid?" Ryoko said with confuse look, "Is it an anime?"

"Tōkusatsu." Kurogasa corrected. "And this Rider is based on video games."

"And what does that have to do with Erina?" The purple-haired girl said with a comical question mark floating above her head.

"Hiro Kagami is the Secondary Rider in the Ex-Aid series. A surgeon to be exact. And he always treats everything like a surgery."

"OHHH~! So Erina was copying his way of handling things?" Ryoko bopped her fist onto an open palm.

"NO! I didn't do it, I just like acting that way!" Erina yelled at them. "I don't watch those shows!"

"Heh~ Omoshire na." Kurogasa smirked. "Fine then, if you're gonna be like Brave, then I'll be like Ex-Aid. No continue de, kuria shite yaruze!"

"Okay now _I'm_ confused." Hisako said, "What does no continue mean?"

"Oh the main character loves playing games, and no continues means that he will win without problems." Erina said with a grin before realizing something… "Oh no…"

"AHA! So you _did_ watch Ex-Aid!"

"No! I-I didn't!" Erina blushed harder as she turned around. "I never saw any Kamen Rider shows."

"Ri~ght, whatever you say." Kurogasa said, with a sly smile before going back to work.

"If I was Ex-Aid right now I would _so_ go Mighty Brothers XX on your face…" Erina muttered with a cute pout.

"But… we _did_ see that series." Hisako said as Erina covered her mouth crying waterfall tears.

"Don't say anymore, Hisako!" Erina cried out.

"Hmhm…" The teacher chuckled before pulling out his phone. "Hold on class I will be back, continue your work."

"Okay Ryoko how much time do we have?"

"I say… two hours maybe?"

"Okay then, that's more than enough time." Kurogasa said. "We can make a classic bacon cheeseburger."

"Isn't that easy?" Ryoko said, "I mean knowing Erina, she will probably make something from high class ingredients."

"Sometimes, the most simplest of things can leave a huge impact." Kurogasa said. "Now then, I have iceberg lettuce that we can shred up and tomatoes we can slice. I just need to figure out the kind of cheese and bacon. Not to mention, the part of the cow we'll use to ground and make the patty. Do you have any ideas, Ryoko?"

"Hmmmmm…" Ryoko pondered, thinking on it. "Well, I suppose a Chuck of the cattle since it has 20 to 30% of fat and it holds the most moisture rather well."

"Good idea, and that gives me an idea for the bread."

"You do?"

"Yep. A brioche bun." Kurogasa grinned.

"What kind of bread is that for?"

"A Brioche is really a French pastry similar to a highly enriched bread. Their high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It has the richer aspect of a pastry because of the extra addition of eggs, butter, liquid and occasionally a bit of sugar. If we lightly toast the bun, it could bring out more of the subtle sweetness, and it won't compromise the heavy saltiness of the other ingredients."

"Hmm, now that I think about it I can see the appeal to having nice juicy meat being sandwiched in between those two big buns- Kurogasa? You there? Hellooo~?" Ryoko waved her hand to the boy who was blushing at what she said.

"I… don't think that was appropriate of what you just said." Kurogasa mumbled.

"How so?" Ryoko asked as Kurogasa blushed harder and tried to explain it.

"Fufufufu, ahh Kuro-kun… you haven't changed." A white haired girl said longingly as she watched the teen.

"Anyways, what do we do now?" Ryoko said, "I only know the basics from middle school."

"That's fine. We can work around it." Kurogasa assured. "Go ahead and start shredding the iceberg lettuce, slicing the tomatoes and potatoes. I'll get to work on the burger patty and making the brioche buns."

"Right, oh remember to make it thin as possible since it will thicken up during cooking." Ryoko reminded her friend of the simple fact.

"Wakatta." Kurogasa nodded.

First he had to deal with the brioche bun. Thankfully, the ingredients were already mixed in and the dough had already risen, meaning it was pre-made and ready to go.

He lined the baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, he divided the dough into 8 equal parts, gently rolling each into a ball and arranged 2 to 3 inches apart on baking sheet. Once he was done, he covered it loosely with a clean kitchen towel. He needed to let the buns rise in a warm place for an hour.

While he was letting the buns rise, he started working on the burger patty. First, he had to grind the meat. So taking a piece of the Chuck, he quickly rolled into a ball as he got a nice sphere and place it on the table. Quickly getting a rolling pin he slowly stretched out the ground meat as he got the desired thin amount.

Once that was done, he fired up the oven and placed a cast iron skillet over the heat putting in the olive oil. Once the oil started heating up Kurogasa put in some chopped garlic, basil, and some light pepper and salt. After that, he gently placed the patty onto the skillet letting it sizzle.

While that was cooking, he had to focus on the bacon. And he knew exactly what to do with it.

After an hour of the dough rising, he set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. He then preheated the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in center. Then he took out the dough and separated them into equal portions. Next he beat an egg with 1 tablespoon water and brushed some on top of the buns. He then placed them on the rack and let them bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until the tops were golden brown, after 15 minutes. After that, he transferred them to a rack to cool completely.

Quickly grabbing a pan and setting on high heat Kurogasa grab some bacon slicing it into nice thin stripes. And throw them into the pan as they fry up quickly from the heat as he use tongs to flip them over and allow to them crisp up enough for a nice texture. Then place them on plate aside to.

Returning to the patty Kurogasa look at it as he saw the thin patty was slowly turning to a small fat piece, "Dammit, if it keeps up like this, The patty won't cook properly and wouldn't be medium-rare all over. Oh wait that idea Beatrix taught me. Excuse me sir? Is there a brick here?"

"…What?"

"A brick?" Kurogasa said before he saw one on his table… oddly there was a strand of white hair. "Never mind," The boy wasted no time as he wrap the useless item with tin foil and place it on top of the burger. "There the weight will make sure that it won't undercook or constant back, now for the cheese."

He then ran over to the fridge and opened it up to see what kind of cheese he could use. "Hm, Sharp Cheddar? No. Pepper Jack? Too spicy for my taste. Swiss? Uh-uh. Ricotta? Nope. Aha! Here!" He said, taking the said block of cheese out of the fridge before closing it. "This should work." He said before cutting them into thin slices.

"Kurogasa, the lettuce, tomatoes, and potatoes are ready." Ryoko called out.

"Thanks!" Kurogasa said before straight over there after slicing the cheese. "Perfect, now I need to cut these potatoes. Cast off…!" He said before taking off his jacket and reversing it to show the red side before attaching it to himself like a cape. "Clock up…"

 ***WHOOSH!***

"There he goes again…" Ryoko murmured in surprise.

In almost an instant all the spuds were cut into thick rectangular pieces as Kurogasa then tossed them gently into the oven drizzling them in olive oil and seasoning it with salt. "Clock Over…"

"Hoo…" The teacher sighed when watching Kurogasa.

"Yosh… it should be almost done." Kurogasa said to himself.

The cookoff went on awhile longer as the young chefs continued cooking and prepping until…

"Time's up, those who made the ten dishes for rice I'll check on you last, those who made burgers come to me." The teacher said as Erina and Kurogasa went to him first, nearly the same time. For Erina's burger, hers was a elegant looking burger. It was a type of a fish with black sesame all around it on a toasted butter bun and a small fresh salad.

"Ah… I see you made a salad to go with this." the teacher noticed.

"A simple kale salad to help with the Ahi tuna with black sesame seed burger."

"I see. Well then, let's have a taste shall we?" the teacher said before he took his fork and bit into it. "Hmmm… it has a rather mild sweet flavor."

"That's because I added maple vinaigrette."

"Maple vinaigrette you say." The teacher raised an eyebrow. "An interesting choice. Now for the burger." He looked to the fish burger and held it in his hands before biting it. "Hmmm… the fish is soft and tender, the juices made the flavors more savory and is just right."

"Naturally." Erina smirked with confidence.

"It's passable." The average looking man said to Erina, "But it is not exciting."

Erina had the gall to blanch at the man's critique. "Excuse me?!"

"Wow, first time I heard something like that." Kurogasa blinked comically as he was shocked at the news.

"Where do you get off from saying my cooking is bland?!"

"I never said that… it's _boring_. Everything here is one note, fresh and clean. You took a different approach but in the end it only only hit sweet, savory, and freshness. All reinforce each other but it wasn't enough."

"W-What?!" Erina gawked.

"This is unexpected." Kurogasa continued to blink comically.

"How is it boring?! I used the finest and freshest ingredients!"

"That's just it. Your style is too high-end." The average man said. "There's no real excitement, it's delicious don't be mistaken, but it has no real impact, no element of who you are."

"Wha- but I…" Erina got out.

"Now then young man, let us taste _your_ burger." The man said as he looked at the said burger.

"D-Don't just ignore me!" Erina snapped.

"Ho~ I see you even added a side of steak fries."

"He totally ignored me…" Erina slumped with her head hung down.

"Hai. And they're lightly seasoned with truffle salt." Kurogasa nodded.

"Hmmm… interesting." The man nodded in thought, stroking his chin. "Well then, let's have a taste shall we?" He said, before he took a steak fry and bit it. "Typically a steak fry is so big, it tends to absorbs more oil and quickly becomes soggy. But you oven baked it, using a small amount of oil so it can crisp up nicely and also have the fluffy insides. The seasoning with the truffle salt leaves me wanting more, a great way to… change up from regular ways."

"Gack!" Erina gawked. _'All this from a side dish?!'_

"Now then let's see what you have to offer for your burger." the man said as he inspected it. "Hoho~ you used a brioche bun. Iceberg lettuce, garden tomatoes, and oh, what's this? Colby Jack cheese?"

"Colby Jack?" Erina and Hisako repeated.

"Hai. I figured that with something like Colby Jack cheese, the flavor is very mild which compliments the whole meal. And with the Chuck of the cattle having 20-30% of the fat, and holding the moisture very well, it would absorb the cheese's flavor as well."

"I see…" The man said, before he picked up the burger and bit into it. "Mmmmmm… the meat is very tender and the juices are succulent and… what is this? This crunchy yet sweet flavor… is this…"

"Hai. Cherry smoked bacon." Kurogasa nodded.

"Cherry smoked bacon?" Hisako's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've never _heard_ of such a thing! The only smoked bacon I'm familiar with is applewood!" Erina added.

"That is why you're meal is lacking. While mesquite, apple, and even just regular smoked meats are good with the all the ingredients, meat and cheese, the cherry's sweet flavor helps this savory dish expand to more of a remarkable experience!"

"No way!" Erina cried out in disbelief.

"If you don't believe me, have a taste for yourself." The man said, before slicing the burger in half, giving the portion that wasn't bitten off to Erina. The said girl looked at the burger with twitching eyes.

"Impossible, there's no way his burger is better than mine…" Erina said, before she grabbed it with her hands and bit into it. "!" She muffled out in surprise.

"Uh… you okay, Erina?" Kurogasa asked a bit worried.

"It's… this is…" Erina said in disbelief after swallowing before she stepped back. "But how… I…"

"She's stumped." Ryoko blinked.

"I believe we have a clear winner." The man smiled as he gestured to Kurogasa. "The winner of this match is Kurogasa Kururugi. Well done."

Kurogasa couldn't contain his excitement before he smiled widely saying holding out a fist, "Welcome to Paradise!"

"Although…" The teacher started, "It is a close battle."

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked.

"What do you mean, sir?" Ryoko tilted her head curiously.

"Both burgers _were_ delicious, there was no question about that. If it wasn't for the uniqueness of Kurogasa's burger, Erina would have won by a long shot, though boring it was. So know that the both of you have flaws and strengths to work on."

"Hai." Kurogasa nodded.

"Hai…" Erina mumbled, looking away.

"And with that, your teams' pass this course. I will go check on the others." The man said, before leaving them.

"Well… that was surprising." Kurogasa blinked.

"You…" Erina seethed, making Kurogasa flinch. "I… underestimated you. It seems you are more talented than I give you credit for."

"It's… nothing really." Kurogasa scratched his cheek with a finger. "I was just… being me."

"Ah~! The bet!" Ryoko said softly, "I forgot about it!"

"Technically, there was no bet because I didn't even state what my terms were, should I win." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"But you should reap the rewards, she made the choice to make a bet and now she has to pay the price." The Teacher said walking to them.

"Even if I did, I'm… not sure what kind of reward I should get. Besides… wait, when did you get back here? That was quick of you to check on the others."

"I know, because everyone except for two others all failed." the teacher smiled.

"WHAT?!" the four students asked shocked.

"Those who failed never made a good burger or finish the other task. So I had no choice."

"I… see…" Hisako blinked.

"Now then… as for your reward. Hmmm…" the teacher pondered.

"Maybe a kiss?" Ryouko joked as the teacher snapped his fingers on that idea.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!" Kurogasa and Erina gawked incredulously.

"I-I-I-I-I-I WILL NEVER ALLOW THAT! IF THAT BOY NEEDS TO DIRTY A GIRL… THEN I'LL DO IT! KISS ME KUROGASA! CHUUU~!" Hisako screamed jumping at the poor stunned boy.

"OI! HISAKO-SAN! GET OFF OF ME!" Kurogasa panicked, trying to push her way.

"I…" Erina mumbled as she turn red slowly.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Hisako shouted trying to kiss Kurogasa.

"ENOUGH WITH THE THUNDERBOLTS!" Kurogasa cried out.

"I think it's kissing noises she's doing Kurogasa." The teacher said with a light chuckle. "It seems that she might hold feelings towards you. She's… what was the term? Tsundere?"

"WHAT?!"

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"GET AWAY!" Kurogasa shouted as he ran for his life.

"GET BACK HERE AND KISS ME!" Hisako shouted, running after him. Ryoko and Erina then soon followed, albeit walking.

* * *

As the students left the man's classroom, another man came walking in, coming out from his hiding spot. It was Gin and he approached the man saying, "You just couldn't leave your student alone, can you." Gin chuckled.

"Do you expect the sun to stop shining, Gin-senpai?" The man said grabbing his chin and slowly peeled off a layer of fake skin to show a young man. "After all, the sun is wonderful. It can even make the dirt shine. Besides, I _am_ rather worried about my student. He's like family."

"But you can't be biased about it. You should know that better than anyone, especially when it came to your sisters." Gin said with an amused smile.

"I do no such thing." The man denied softly.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about him. I looked over his record and he's doing rather well in his classes and his Shokugeki matches." Gin said. "You should be proud."

"Of course, you're talking about a student I trained personally."

"In that case… I look forward to see the fruits of his labor. And to see if he can really cross that desert."

* * *

Soon, all of the students have arrived back at the main hotel and thankfully, everyone in the Polar Star Dorm had survived. As the Polar Star Students talked amongst themselves, Kurogasa watched from a little ways afar smiling at the interaction. "Glad they all made it." He smiled gently.

"You there." A voice said. Kurogasa noticed the voice and turned to see… the Aldini Brothers. "You are Kurogasa Kururugi, correct?"

"I am." Kurogasa said.

"I wish to challenge you next!"

…

…

…

"Uh, you know we can't do a Shokugeki during the trip, right?"

The blonde male just paused staying in his pose before slowly turning red, "O-Of course!"

"BWAHAHAHA, you're so lame, Nii-chan!"

"Isami, don't laugh!" Takumi snapped comically.

"I'm sorry, but who are you two?"

"They're the Aldini brothers,"" Beatrix said walking up to the males. "They're Italian."

"Y-Yes." Takumi said, clearing his throat to compose himself. "I'm Takumi Aldini, and this is my twin brother Isami Aldini."

"But you two don't look alike." Kurogasa said.

"Hey Isami, put in some weight again?" Beatrix smiled sweetly at the portly brother.

"Hai, still chasing girls?"

"Baby, you know i~t!"

"Anyways, like Yukihira Soma, I run a diner, Trattoria Aldini. Like him, I'm also a chef who's been protecting his restaurant on the front lines."

"And I'm one of the most annoying persons to ever live…" Beatrix whispered in his ear.

"And I'm one of the most annoying persons to ever live… OI!" Takumi glared at the sweets lover who high fived with Isami.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Isami, stop it!"

"Are you even serious?" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Heh, sorry had to." Beatrix giggled, "Seems you survived so far."

"Yeah. Same to you. I bet you had a dessert class long the way."

"No… No I did not." Beatrix paled with a dark cloud over her head.

"Then how did you manage to survive?" Kurogasa asked incredulous.

"I cried as I worked. It was… shameful." The girl pouted.

"At any rate," Takumi interrupted, getting Kurogasa's attention. "One of these days, you and I _will_ have a Shokugeki. I promise you that. Once I defeat Yukihira, you're next."

"Oh really," Kurogasa raised an eyebrow. "My sushi against your pasta? This should be good. But I'm warning you. By the time I'm done, you'll be walking the Path of Heaven."

"Good, that's just what I want to hear from my rival. Until we meet again…"

"Dude… we have to stay here for the next challenge." Beatrix started, "You always run that mouth of yours before realizing the situation."

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Isami laughed.

"Stop laughing, Isami!" Takumi snapped comically.

* * *

So before the day was done, they had one more task they had to do. Hitoshi had the students make fifty servings of a steak set for the American football team that were staying at the hotel for that night. They had an hour and if they didn't finish, they were expelled. So the students all rushed and it was chaos. Eventually, the Polar Star students showed their tenacity and finished making fifty sets in one hour.

"Ah, relaxation!" Beatrix sighed sensually as she opened her eyes to see Kurogasa staring at her.

"How did you get yourself and Shiki to be my roommates?"

"Ehe~ I have connections." Beatrix smiled slyly.

"Knowing you, I'd rather not know…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Boo, it involves hot wax, a riding crop and three sweet, sweet girls. Listen, it started when I-"

"Okay, Bea, enough!" Shiki said, duct taping her mouth.

Beatrix sighed and rolled her eyes before noticing something on Kurogasa's neck, "WAF IF DAT?"

"Hm? Oh this?" Kurogasa said. "It's a pendant. Well, half of one. It's supposed to be a W when put together. And yes, Kamen Rider Double."

"So where's the other half?" Shiki asked, cooking some sweet treats with Beatrix. Kurogasa's mood instantly turned sullen, as he looked down sadly.

"It was… with a friend I knew from ten years ago… I haven't seen her since… all because of a cake I made for her that she liked a lot and her father kicked me out…"

 ***RIIIIIIIIIIIIIP~!***

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Beatrix said ripping off the tape to say what she wanted… "Owww…" she squeaked comically.

"I'm not joking…" He muttered. "It's because of him that I couldn't see her ever again. I even remember what he said when I told him that she liked my cake. '…She's my way of creating the perfect world of culinary progress. You will _never_ understand the ability she has. I don't want her to be soiled by your horrible food.'"

"Damn, that can leave a serious scar." Shiki said giving the two some warm chocolate drinks.

"That's why I came to this school in the first place. To find her…"

"Wow, I can kinda understand that." Beatrix said sitting down, "When my dad divorced my mom, he took my sister with him. All I have, to remember her by is my face, we're identical. But I wanted to be a pastry chef, because she also wanted be one."

"I see." Kurogasa nodded.

"But I know you'll find her. Besides, maybe she's under your nose or something."

"You think it's that obvious?" Kurogasa looked at her.

"Well, it happens all the time in anime." Beatrix shrugged.

"I guess so… well, no use thinking about it now." Kurogasa sighed before he down his chocolate drink in one-go before standing up to leave. "I'm gonna soak in the hot spring."

"…Didn't you add whiskey to yours?" Beatrix asked, "Cause I can't smell it."

"Ohh, must've give him the wrong one." Shiki said with wide eyes, "Ehh, it's not like we're in the red light district."

* * *

"Oh what am I thinking? It's still haunting me to this day…" Kurogasa sighed to himself as he had his basket and towels, but for some reason he was wobbling. "What the- why am I feeling dizzy all of a sudden?" He shook his head as he turned a corner.

 ***BUMP!***

"AH!"

"Huh?" Kurogasa looked to see… a flushed Erina?! She was in her pink yukata with a brown happi over her. Her shoulders and cleavage were exposed as steam billowed from her body. When Erina looked up, she looked surprised.

"Sorry, I uh… didn't see you there." Kurogasa said though there was a slight slur.

"K-Kurogasa?" Erina got out.

"Are you… alright?" Kurogasa asked, as he knelt on one knee holding out his hand. For some reason, in Erina's eyes, the scenery around Kurogasa changed into a sparkling background.

And for Kurogasa it was the same, he saw a sensually light glowing around Erina…

In more with a short life span of a nanosecond, they started to inch closer to each other… Kurogasa wrapping his arms around her and Erina placing her hands on his chest. Slowly continuing-

"ERINA-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Uwhooooooooa!" Kurogasa managed to snap out of it, and involuntarily fell on Erina.

"Sorry I took so long!" Hisako's voice said as she ran up to her… only seeing Kurogasa on top of Erina. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET OFF OF ERINA-SAMA!"

"GAH!" Kurogasa freaked out, backing off and Erina sitting up. "SUMANAI!"

"What were you doing to her?!" Hisako demanded.

"Nothing, I just… fell on Erina." Kurogasa got out.

"!" Hisako gasped horribly.

"H-Hold on, don't make it sound like something it wasn't!" Erina snapped, getting up.

"But…" Kurogasa muttered as he sat up and looked away with a blush. "You went boing…"

"BOING!?" Hisako turned to Erina.

"Stop taking his words seriously! It's your fault I was alone in the springs waiting for you!"

"A-Anyways, I'll just be going now." Kurogasa said, before managing to get up and run off.

"Wait," Erina mumbled as she remembered something in her slight daze. "Was he wearing a necklace?"

"Oh yes, speaking of which, I just finished polishing your prized necklace!" Hisako said kindly giving Erina a green V necklace.

"Thank you, Hisako." Erina said, taking the said necklace. "I wonder… did he…"

"Is something wrong, Erina-sama?" Hisako tilted her head.

"Nothing, just… wishful thinking… s-so did you get them?"

"Hai, I got the Kamen Rider Double DVD's." Hisako said with a smile, at least this series she's familiar with. "Ready to watch?"

"Yes… let's." Erina said, before the two left for their room. Unbeknownst to them, the same white-haired girl that was in Kurogasa's class for their burger assignment watched them from afar.

"Hmhmhm, oh Erina, you're letting me get too much of a lead on Kuro's heart."

"Ojou-san, it's time for bed." A familiar voice said lazily.

"Mou, I want the readers feeling scared at my upcoming debut!"

"Hai…"

* * *

 **IN LOVING MEMORY OF RONALD LINSANGAN**

 **1970-2016**


	8. Dish 8

**Fen:** Hey guys, Fen and Queen here for another chapter of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe and don't worry guys, I'm okay now. After getting myself settled down since last chapter, I'm good. Thanks for your support guys.

 **AQ:** I CAN SPEAK AGAIN~!

 **Fen:** Wait, wha? You can now?! That's great!

 **AQ:** That was hell… not being able to speak for nearly a few months…

 **Fen:** So what are you gonna do to celebrate your voice coming back?

 **AQ:** I dunno get some chocolate? Karaoke?

 **Fen:** Or both?

 **AQ:** Well, either way gonna sing Without Me…

 **Fen:** Okay then, let's get this chapter started!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

That same night, Erina and Hisako were in their room watching episodes of Kamen Rider Double and they watched for a few hours until they got to about Episode 5 of the show. What? The episodes were 30 minutes a piece and there was no way that both of them were going to binge watch the entire night watching the entire series.

"*Yaaaaaaaawn…*" Erina yawned as she covered her mouth as the episode had just finished.

"I still don't understand why they can't just buy more Gaia Memories than using the standard six." Hisako said. "I mean Magma sounds more powerful than Heat…"

"The Gaia Memories that Shotaro and Philip use are much more refined than the Dopant memories." Erina pointed out.

"But even so, they can surprise the Gaia Family by using their own weapons!"

"That's basically what every Kamen Rider does. They use the bad guy's weapons against them."

"Name one!" Hisako pouted, she hated to lose a conversation on logical things.

"For starters, there's Kamen Rider Ichigo and Nigo. The very first two Kamen Riders. They were kidnapped by the organization SHOCKER to be experimented on and modified to be the ultimate cyborgs, until they escaped and they used their modified powers against SHOCKER." Erina explained.

"…Name three more…"

"Very well. If you insist." Erina sighed. "Kamen Rider Agito. The powers of Agito and the Lords he fought against originated from rival god-like brothers known as the Overlords, with the Overlord of Light bestowed the Seeds of Agito to humanity on his deathbed so they could evolve beyond the control of Overlord of Darkness, who in return, created the Lords to hunt down and wipe out the Agitos. Another example will be Kamen Rider Blade. His contemporaries fought using the power of the Undead they fought against via the Rouze Cards, which are sealed forms of the Undead. Also, the users of the Rider Buckles must meet a level of synchronization with Undead DNA to use them. Then there's Kamen Rider Kabuto. He and his contemporaries herald from was developed by the Native Worms to give to the humans that would form ZECT, to fight against the more malevolent Worms that would arrive later, though some of the Native Worms were not exactly saints, including the inventors of the Masked Rider System."

"Fine, you win!" Hisako pouted at her friend.

"See? When it comes to Kamen Rider, my knowledge of it, like my cooking, is second to none." Erina smirked victoriously.

"I still say things would be better if they use more than six Gaia Memories…"

"Well they gain two more. The Fang and Xtreme. Their penultimate and final Gaia Memories."

"I know, I meant the Museum ones! Never mind, you're too stubborn on this subject…"

"Maa ii wa. We can debate later. For now, I'm ready to sleep." Erina said, before she got off Hisako's bed and went to hers, tucking in the blanket.

"Hai…" Hisako pouted before she turned off the T.V. and turned off the light before tucking herself in for the night. However, Erina didn't immediately fall asleep just yet. She took out her green V necklace and looked at it, as certain memory entered her mind.

* * *

 **Flashback - 10 years ago**

 _"Here!" The boy grinned as he showed her the full 'W' necklace that was half black and half green._

 _"For me?" Little Erina asked._

 _"Well, half of it actually," He said before he broke the W in half and giving the green half to her._

 _"Why did you do that?" Erina asked, pouting._

 _"Why not? It shows that we are partners for life!"_

 _"Partners?" She asked._

 _"Yep! If and when we ever move away, we can always remember each other with this!" He smiled widely._

 _"Really?"_

 _"Uh-huh, just like Shotaro and Phillip!"_

 _"…" The girl remained silent thinking about it, before she took the green half. "Okay, but promise me that if we do, we find each other, no matter how long it takes."_

 _"Ah, yakusoku!" He smiled again._

 **End Flashback**

* * *

Erina opened her eyes slowly to hold her green V Necklace, "Where are you…?" She softly begged wanting nothing more than to see her old friend again as she held it close to her chest while curling up. "Where are you, Ku-kun…?"

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix.  
 **(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy.  
 **(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them.  
 **(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background.  
 **(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot.  
 **(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures.  
 **(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 8:** Rainbow Terrine

"Man, should've known that Shiki would add liquor to anything. Food _or_ drink." Kurogasa sighed to himself as he was at the entrance of the men's hot spring ready to go in, with nothing but a towel. "Well, at least I can try to get my mind of what almost happened…" He added.

"Hm? Oh hey Kuro!" A voice called out. Kurogasa turned around to see Soma who was also out of his clothes, only bringing a towel with him.

"Soma. Did you just finish?" Kurogasa asked.

"Yeah, fair warning… be prepared for what you'll see." The red haired teen chuckled before leaving a confused Kurogasa. Shrugging it off, he walked towards the door before sliding it open.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

"!" Kurogasa gawked seeing a rather muscular Gin Dojima, already in the hot springs, stretching out.

"Hm? Someone's here?" Gin got out, before looking to Kurogasa. "Warui na, but stretching out before taking a bath is my daily routine.

That's when Kurogasa thought, _'He's freakin' scary!'_ an uncharacteristic thought for him.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

…but it was only for an instant.

"Man, and here I thought I'd be the first one in. Imagine _my_ disappointment." Kurogasa said.

"Hahahaha, that's the spirit! I wouldn't have chosen another person to bathe with!" Gin chuckled loudly. "Though I have to say, given last year and this year, the Academy has some very good students in the pipeline."

"Really…" Kurogasa said rather intrigued.

"Yes, I can admit that you're one of them just like Yukihira who was here earlier." Gin said. "I try to finish my bath before the other students show up though. The task of making 50 servings is a huge task. And it's obvious who completed it the fastest. Last year, there was a student who finished and showed up early too. He's now the seventh seat of the Elite Ten."

 _'It's someone I know!'_ Kurogasa got out. "You mean… Isshiki-senpai?"

"Yes the one who likes spending time on… youth I think?"

"Heh~ that's sound like Isshiki-senpai alright…" Kurogasa said, but then he thought of something as his eyes widened slightly, _'Wait a minute… Erina was coming back from her bath. Did she finish earlier than_ I _did?'_

"You know, speed really isn't everything. But it's clear that skill is involved. Like Erina Nakiri, granddaughter of the Academy's Director."

"Ah… I see…" Kurogasa nod to the man's words. "That God Tongue she has."

"That's right. Her tongue is so sensitive, she can clearly point out what's wrong with the food."

"Hmmm… just like…" Kurogasa trailed off. "No, that can't be…"

"What is it?"

"No… it's… there was a friend I knew from ten years ago… whatever I cooked, she pushed away," Kurogasa smiled sadly. "That was until… I made a simple cake for her and she loved it."

"I see, what happened to her? I can see her as an aspring chef like you."

"I haven't seen her in ten years… all because of her father kicking me out…"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I even remember what he said when I told him that she liked my cake. '…She's my way of creating the perfect world of culinary progress. You will _never_ understand the ability she has. I don't want her to be soiled by your horrible food.'"

"!" Gin's eyes widened considerably.

"It's because of him that I never saw her again. I was hoping maybe I could find her here and… hm? Gin-senpai? What's wrong?" He asked.

"It's nothing… I hope." The man whispered that last bit to himself. "Anyways," He said, before getting up, "Keep doing what you're doing. And good luck finding her."

"Thank you." Kurogasa nodded.

At that point, the doors slid open and Takumi came in. "Gah, Kururugi! Ah, Chef Dojima!"

"It looks like I overstayed my welcome." Gin said, before holding out his hand to Kurogasa. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Arigatou, Gin-senpai." Kurogasa nodded before Gin left the bath.

"Kururugi! Did you know who you just talked to?!" Takumi asked, as he approached him.

"Yeah, Gin-senpai. What's wrong with _that_?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

"HE'S THE GUY WHO OWNS THIS PLACE AND HAS INCREDIBLE INFLUENCE IN THE COOKING WORLD!" Takumi yelled out.

"Okay, first of all, no need to yell." Kurogasa cringed, massaging his ear with a pinky, cleaning the inside. "And second, it's nothing to be really surprised about. He's our senpai."

"Don't you have any fear? He could make or break you here." Takumi said entering the bath, "Unlike Soma you do have shown respect."

"Well, I don't have any." Kurogasa sighed as he entered the bath again. "Because I know I can get past this training camp, as long as I walk the Path of Heaven."

"The Path of Heaven?" Takumi asked, looking at him.

"Yeah. It's what my Shishou taught me." Kurogasa answered as he looked up. "He's an alumni like Gin-senpai. 75th Generation."

"75th…" Takumi muttered, thinking about it. "The only one notable in that generation is…" He said, before he comically paled. "N-N-N-N-No way! You mean-"

"Mhmm." Kurogasa noddded.

"HIM?! Him of all people to be your shishou?!" Takumi exclaimed before he slumped. "That's it… my cooking career is over… I can't beat you in a Shokugeki anymore…"

"Oi, oi, oi…" Kurogasa sweat dropped sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Gin was back in the locker room as he was drying himself up. However… there was something on his mind. It was what Kurogasa had said before.

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"'…She's my way of creating the perfect world of culinary progress. You will never understand the ability she has. I don't want her to be soiled by your horrible food.'"_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

 _'What are you planning this time…?'_ Gin thought to himself.

* * *

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Yuki sighed in relief as she, Ryoko, and Megumi were in the hot springs with the other girls. Mito was sitting on a stool with soap all over her body, scrubbing her back while Hojo and Nao were relaxing themselves. "Serving 50 servings to those people sure is tiring." Yuki said.

"Thankfully I was able to make good sweets for those idiot meatheads." Beatrix said entering, "Ahh… to relax to chase after girls."

"They didn't call this the training camp of hell for nothing…" Ryoko murmured. "It's going to be like this for the next five days."

"But once you get in the soaking hot bath, you've got the energy to try again." Megumi smiled as Ryoko looked down at the rubber ducky.

"You brought it with you?" She asked.

"I thought I'd take it with me to see the world." Megumi answered.

"Hehhhhhhh…" Beatrix sighed before looking at Ryoko. "Still…"

"W-What is it?" Ryoko asked as Beatrix looked down at certain part of her body.

"You're as audacious as ever, ne? Sakaki-dono?" Beatrix asked, as she tried to reach for one of her assets, only for Ryoko to slap her hand away. "Boo…" The sweet maker pouted, "Well anyway, it seems we're doing well for now."

"Yeah, but who knows how long we can last?" Yuki sighed.

"I believe we could last the whole training camp." Megumi said. "We just have to keep doing our best."

"Yeah, you're right." Ryoko smiled. "The first task Kurogasa and I did was easy."

"What did you do?" Beatrix asked.

"We had to make a hamburger."

"A hamburger?"

"Mhmm… the teacher instructing us though was rather weird."

"…Weird." Beatrix said simply.

"What's wrong? Why is it weird?" Megumi asked.

"My teacher made us do this annoying test with using what nature gave us, like fishing and looking for plants to cook with. That burger thing sounds too light-leveled."

"That's what Soma-kun and I did with Inui-senpai." Megumi noticed. "Wait… how come I didn't see you there though?"

"…Uh… It wasn't because I wasn't making out with Inui-chan- I mean Sensei…" Beatrix blushed beet red at the girl. "Nope, nothing like that at all!"

"What did you say?" Yuki asked.

"Nothing!" Beatrix squeaked.

"Did you just say-"

"I SAID IT WAS NOTHING!"

* * *

Day 2 of the Training Camp had arrived. And after the students had cooked their own breakfast, the students gathered once again and separated into groups, though they weren't going to be in the same group like yesterday. They mixed the people around and after that, they separated into the groups to go into their training sites. For Kurogasa, he was now paired with Megumi.

"Yo. Looks like we get to pair up, Megumi-chan." Kurogasa waved with a smile.

"Yes, I'm glad I got paired up with someone I know." Megumi said with a shaking form and a small smile.

"Relax, you're gonna do fine." Kurogasa assured with a nod before he looked down at the papers in front of them. "What's this?" he wondered as he picked up the paper. "A recipe?" He wondered.

"That must explain all those vegetables in the back of the kitchen." Megumi said, pointing to the various vegetables.

"Ohayo." A voice said. They all turned to see an alumnus enter the kitchen. It was none other than Chef Kojiro Shinomiya.

"Gh…" Kurogasa's eyes slightly widened before he narrowed them and clenched his fist tightly.

"Kuro…" Megumi said a bit worried before placing a hand on his shoulder, making him look at her. "I-It's okay… I'm with you… and so are the others, just like Ryoko said."

"Megumi-chan…" Kurogasa muttered before nodding. "Y-Yeah, you're right."

"I'm Chef Shinomiya, an alumnus of the 79th Generation." Shinomiya greeted.

 _'He's four years below Shishou…'_ Kurogasa thought.

"This task involves cooking a dish of my cooking. I hope you have the recette I gave you." Shinomiya said.

"Shoot, it's Chef Shinomiya."

"I heard he expelled more than 30 students yesterday."

"He assigned us a recipe he came up with, too."

The recipe in question was a Terrine of Nine Vegetables. Though visually arresting with its nine vibrant vegetables, each vegetable requires specific preparation and cooking times, and none must overwhelm or underwhelm its counterparts. It is a Herculean task to bring all the flavors together.

"I chose the easiest of my recettes. Would you prefer a more challenging recipe?" Shinomiya asked.

 _'Damn him…!'_ One student thought.

 _'I want to punch his face right now…'_ Another added.

"'Recettes'?" Kurogasa asked.

"I think that's recipe is French." Megumi said.

"Also…" Shinomiya added. "…you are not allowed to form teams for this task." That made Megumi gasp. This was not good. She was not good doing things by her own. How was she gonna do this on her own? "I will have each of you prepare the dish. You may not share information or help each other during this process. You will each select ingredients from the piles at the back of the kitchen. Lastly, a word of advice: you would do better to think of everyone else as your enemies. The time limit is three hours… Now… begin…"

In less than a second nearly the all the students were shoving and pushing each other to rush to grab their ingredients. Kurogasa blinked and in a fraction of that second, he already got his ingredients. _'Thank goodness for Shishou's spartan-like training…'_ The young boy thanked his lucky stars his teacher made him quick enough to react on his feet. _'Shishou ga iteita: If you wish it to be so, luck will be your ally.'_ He added before he set to work.

As the hours dwindled down, one by one, students were being expelled by Shinomiya left and right and there were few who passed. Kurogasa thankfully was among those who passed, because judging by his attitude and personality, Shinomiya looked to be the kind of person that wants their recipes to be followed by the letter.

However, for Megumi… there was a slight problem. She had all the other ingredients except for the cauliflower and they were not good, because of the slight oxidation and the coloring was slightly off. So she had to improvise. She used the vinegar, which had a whitening effect and it also enhances its sweetness. Once she manages to fix that problem, she went ahead to make the rest of the Terrine and with just enough time and plating, she finished.

"There I did it!" Megumi said happily.

So now the time came, Megumi was the last to prepare her dish.

"So, you're the last one." Shinomiya said.

"H-Hai. I'm Megumi Tadokoro. Thank you for having me." She said, presenting her Terrine of Nine Vegetables. She just had to pass. She was confident that that she would. She had her family and friends supporting her in spirit.

"Very well, let's have a taste." he said, before he cut a piece of the Terrine, poked it and placed it in his mouth. After chewing for a moment…

…

…

…

…

"You're fired." Shinomiya said to Megumi.

"?!" Megumi gasped.

"Nani?" Kurogasa's eyes widened.

"But why? I don't understand. Why was my dish unacceptable?" Megumi said in disbelief.

"You used wine vinegar when you boiled the cauliflower that was no longer fresh, didn't you?" Shinomiya asked. "You maintained the cauliflower's pristine color by using vinegar, which has a whitening effect. Using vinegar in the seasoning also enhances the cauliflower's sweetness. The sweetness of the vegetables and the vinegar's mild acidity are in perfect harmony."

"T-Then why-"

"Who said you could change the recette?" Shinomiya asked darkly, making Megumi gasp. "This dish is intended to savor the harmony created by the sweetness of each vegetable. Nowhere in the recette did it say to make use of acidity. The dish you made is an entirely different beast. Presenting a dish that does not align with the task merits a fail as a matter of course. I hope you find that as a satisfactory answer."

"Like hell it is!" Kurogasa suddenly snapped. "It's called an unavoidable accident! Some of those ingredients weren't even fresh! Besides, we're treated as your employees right? So isn't it _your_ job to manage those ingredients since you're _our_ boss?!"

"That is the very reason I did that boy." Shinomiya sighed, "The kitchen's no place for the meek and weak. I added poor-quality ingredients on purpose to limit the number of people who would pass." He said, making the other students gasp. "Those who lose their cool and made a poor selection would fail. That includes any slowpokes who fell behind and couldn't secure a better ingredient."

"You deliberately make students fail?! That goes against your job!" Kurogasa yelled.

" _I'm_ the chef here…" Shinomiya said darkly, giving out an aura somewhat similar to _him_. "I'd never allow my underlings to make changes to _my_ recette!"

"TEMEEEEEEEE!" Kurogasa yelled, ready to punch him.

"Stop!"

Suddenly the teacher that Kurogasa made the burger yesterday flipped him over and pin the aspiring chef to the floor, "Men must be cool, did you forget that?"

"!" Kurogasa's eyes widened as he gasped.

"Don't reveal anything, just follow my lead." The average chef said picking up Kurogasa, "What's going on here?"

"Shinomiya-senpai was about to expel Megumi for something she couldn't control! Shinomiya-senpai is deliberately making his students fail by purposely adding in bad ingredients!" He growled.

"Is this true Shinomiya? While I believe that our employer allows to do what we want, this seems too challenging and far one-sided."

"Tch, and who are you supposed to be?" The French chef asked in annoyance.

"He's my Shishou, that's who." Kurogasa said. "An alumni of the 75th Generation."

"That's a lie, I have no idea who this man is, I know the graduating classes and he doesn't resemble the 75th at all."

"Then maybe this should jog your memory…" Kurogasa said.

"Tōtsuki Jyukketsu…"

 **遠月十傑** **  
**Tōtsuki Elite Ten Council

 ***CLAP, CLAP!***

"Dai Isseki… Tendou Souji…"

 **第一席** **:** **天道 総司** **  
**Number 1: Tendou Souji

 ***GONG!***

Shinomiya stiffened considerably as the man chuckled, slowly peeling his face off to show a man's face, young but held confidence of a true man. After messing his hair the man spoke, "What's wrong? You seem shocked to see me… Shinomiya."

"No way!"

"Tendou Souji?!"

"The man who walks the Path of Heaven?!"

"I've heard stories about him beating everyone in his generation!"

"What's he doing here?"

As the students murmured amongst one another, Kurogasa picked up the leftover face. "Where did you get that face?"

"Daisuke and I made it just for this occasion." Tendou said before looking back at the teacher.

"Of course, leave it to Daisuke-san with the make-up. Should've guessed." Kurogasa scoffed.

"He sends his regards and also Gon." The teacher of Kurogasa chucked. "You left a good impression with them."

"Y-You…!" Shinomiya seethed, pointing to Tendou then to Kurogasa. "You mean to tell me that you're that monster's-"

"That's right. And now you're going to see what happens, when I unleash Heaven's Punishment on your ass with a Shokugeki!" Kurogasa challenged.

*WHACK!*

"OW! What?!" Kurogasa cried out at his Shishou.

"There is a time and places for these things. What did I just say about being cool?" Tendou sighed.

"Mmmmmmm…" Kurogasa pouted, looking away.

"Well? I'm waiting…"

"Men must be cool… Boiling water turns into vapor…" He muttered.

"Shinomiya, I apologize for my student's rather rude action, I was going to challenge you myself. But he has…" Tendou paused to give a stern look to Kurogasa who shrank from the look. "Allowed himself to force this upon himself. Will you accept his challenge?"

"Hmph, I don't have the time for something trivial as that. My decision still stands." Shinomiya scoffed.

"Ho~ what have we here?" A new voice said, as they turned to see Gin at the doorway. "Seems like we have ourselves a complication."

* * *

"Mou~ her dish tastes good, why are you failing her?" Hinako whined as she, Shinomiya, Gin, Kurogasa, Megumi, and Tendou were in Gin's office. "Hm? Ah! T-T-T-T-Tendou-s-s-s-senpai!" Hinako shivered in fear. "I-I-I didn't s-s-see you there!"

"Greetings Inui, it still feels odd calling you that after meeting Takumi." Souji chuckled, "Though you both bark like dogs when you don't get what you want."

"Mou…" The grown woman pouted. "Wait when did you get here? Are your sisters here?"

"No, they're back at the restaurant taking care of things there."

"Oh…" Hinako said before she turned back to Shinomiya and complained. "Anyways, why are you failing her, senpai? Her dish tastes really good! Mou, you're always stubborn like that even back then!" Whatever she was about to say next, stopped as Shinomiya grabbed her head with one hand and lifted her up, squeezing said head very tight.

"ITITITITITITITITITAAAAAAI~!"

"Just how strong is he?" Kurogasa gawked at the sight before Shinomiya put Hinako down, the latter crouching and holding her head.

"Hidoi yo, Shinomiya-senpai…" Hinako cried anime tears.

"In any case, while I don't have any disputes of how you run things Kojiro, don't you think Tadokoro-kun's courage of how to handle the situation warrants enough merit to pass?" Gin asked.

"Not in the slightest." Shinomiya retorted.

"And why is that?" Tendou queried. "Afraid that my student will beat you down?"

"I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Then accept the Shokugeki."

"Tch…" Shinomiya scoffed in annoyance before saying, "Fine…"

"Then here's the stipulations. If I win, you rescind Megumi's expulsion, but if you win…" Kurogasa said before steeling himself. "Not only does Megumi get expelled. I will too."

"Kurogasa?!" Megumi gasped in horror.

"He will accept." Tendou said, "After all it's a win-win for Shino and lose-win for Kurogasa. Even if Kurogasa beats him, no one will really know outside of us."

"Tch, as always you think that everything is going your way." Shinomiya said with a glare.

"So what will be the main dish?" Kurogasa asked, "If it pleases you guys, I want Shinomiya to choose."

"Why would you allow the advantage to be given to your opponent?" Gin said confused at the thoughts.

"Because I- no…" He shook his head before he placed his hand on Megumi's shoulder. "Because _we_ know we can win."

"Eh? Ehhh?" Megumi got out.

"I see." Gin mused. "Well then if you're that confident, then we'll allow it. Kojiro-san. What will be the theme?"

"Hmph… the theme will be vegetables." Kojiro scoffed.

"Very well. Due to the nature of this unofficial Shokugeki, we can't have it interfere with the schedule of today's camp. So… after all afternoon classes are done, we will meet for the unofficial Shokugeki in the basement of the hotel." Gin advised.

"Fine by me." Shinomiya said before leaving but not before saying, "Just be prepared to be expelled. I can't wait to savor the victory when you and that girl wallow in defeat." And with that, be left completely, leaving everyone else in the office.

* * *

A little later, Kurogasa and Megumi walked out of the office too with Megumi following behind. "Looks like we got our work cut out for us." He said.

"Why…?" Megumi barely murmured.

"Hm?" Kurogasa turned to see Megumi who had stopped walking, her head down while tears fell from her eyes.

"I'm going to make things go wrong…" Megumi cried for once truly scared of losing more than she can handle. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Megumi-chan…" Kurogasa murmured before walking up to her and…

*PLOP!*

-hugged her?

"!"

"I _chose_ to do this, Megumi." Kurogasa said before letting go. "Besides, I know you're a great chef. I've seen what you can do. Your hospitality to others is what makes you strong. You care about the people around you, because that's in your nature."

"But, what if we lose?"

"We won't. Because you and I are walking the Path of Heaven… together."

"Alright."

"Kurogasa…" Tendou appeared before the two aspiring chefs.

"O-Oi! Shishou, don't do that!" Kurogasa freaked out.

"I tried to speak to you, but apparently keeping your girlfriend's spirit up was taking all of your mental attention." That made Kurogasa and Megumi blush heavily.

"H-Hey! She's not my girlfriend! Only Na-chan!" Kurogasa snapped before covering his mouth. "Oops…"

"Na-chan?" Megumi tilted her head.

"Long story…"

"Hmhmhm, right sorry." Tendou chuckled before looking at Megumi. "His old childhood sweetheart."

"S-Sokka…" Megumi nodded.

"Anyways," Kurogasa cleared his throat. "What is it?"

"Do you have any ideas for what to use against Shinomiya?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. Most likely they'll use leftover good vegetables for today and it'll be on the spot."

Tendou sighed, "One of the flaws of Shinomiya is that he is too arrogant for his own good."

"So… what do you suggest we could make?" Megumi asked.

"Something that only you're good at. Your specialty is hospitality and comfort food, right?"

"H-Hai."

"Then you should focus on those. It will be your Path to Heaven." Tendou smiled kindly. "Also Kurogasa… do you know about a boy in your year named Nero?"

"Yeah, he's my roommate for the rest of the training camp along with Beatrix… why…?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Beatrix? Ahh, now it makes sense, well I came here with another… chef and he is-"

"NERO~! WHERE ARE YOU~!"

"-here."

"Wait… that voice sounds familiar." Kurogasa pondered. "Where have I heard it before?"

"We better go before Oren breaks things apart looking for Nero."

"Wait, him?! Mr. Dangerous Durian himself?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"Who?" Megumi said as Tendou grabbed Kurogasa in a headlock.

"Quiet about the Riders my student…" The adult warned his student.

"Hai, hai, hai, wakatta!" Kurogasa choked, turning blue as he was tapping out.

* * *

"NERO~! WHERE ARE YOU~!"

"!" Nero stiffened and paled considerably upon hearing that voice. "NO, NOOO, NOOOOOOOO~!" The boy cried.

"What's wrong?" Ryoko said as the whole gang was watching Nero slip under the bed.

"He's here!"

"Who's here?" Marui asked confused.

"HEY NERO! Did you hear that?!" Beatrix said wearing only her towel, "I think he's here!"

"NO! ANYONE BUT HIM!" Nero wailed.

"What is wrong with you?" Yuki asked.

*WHAM~!*

"BONJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUR!"

" _Prof~!_ " Beatrix greeted as she hugged the person who kicked down the door. The person in question was a rather effeminate man wearing a black tourniquet with thin hoop earrings on each of his ear wearing a tye-dye shirt with a black leather jacket that had a fur collar. He also wore black pants and black loafers.

"Who are you?!" The two tough teen yelled as the adult 'hmm' at them.

"Guys, this is Oren Pierre Alfonzo, my patissier professor and my second daddy!" Beatrix smiled.

"Your what?!" Everyone asked shocked.

*RING-RING-RING~!*

"Yuki your phone has a text." Ryoko said.

"Ohh, it's says 'Second Daddy means what it means, get your minds out of the gutters. -N.K.'" Yuki read out loud.

"Bea, where is zat boy?" Oren asked.

"Hiding under the bed as usual when you come to visit."

"DAMMIT!"

"NERO~!" Oren said walking forward before hearing a loud beeping noise… "What's that sound?"

*BOOOOM~!*

Suddenly the whole room was suddenly filled with bubbles making everyone swat the bubble while a figure managed to crawl out of the bed and dash out of the room.

"NON~! Bea! After him!"

"Oui~ taser him~!" The girl pulled out a stun gun and squeezed the trigger as the two cables hit the back of Nero's neck.

*BZZZZZZZZZZZT~!*

"YaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAa!" Nero cried out as he was being electrocuted before he fell on his back. "Bea~ that's my chocolate whiskey~!" He moaned randomly having swirls in his eyes.

"I zee, you've been practicing." Oren smiled at the girl.

"Oui!" Beatrix chirped. "He's all yours!"

"I feel like we should be stopping this before we have to go M-Rating." Marui said.

"Don't break the fourth wall…" Shun finally spoke.

* * *

Soon after all afternoon classes were done for the day, Kurogasa, Megumi, and Tendou made their way towards the basement of the hotel. When they arrived, the doors opened and they saw that in the basement was a kitchen stadium and there was an assortment of leftover vegetables in the back. Shinomiya was there along with Gin and Hinako. As well as the other alumni. Though, the other alumni were shocked to see Tendou. Fuyumi actually hid the moment she saw him behind one of the counters.

"A-Ah! T-Tendou-senpai!" Donado said nervously before he hid and crouched behind a pillar.

"Donado." Tendou raised an eyebrow.

"Ehehehe… Y-You're not mad about me uh… spending time with your sisters… right?"

"No, but I _am_ mad that you constantly tried to ask them out. That… is a whole other story."

"Tendou-senpai is scary…" Fuyumi muttered.

"Seriously, how many people did you scare off during your time at the Academy, Shishou?" Kurogasa whispered.

"I just only showed the Path towards Heaven." Tendou sighed, "It's understandable to feel fear."

"Er-hem." Gin cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Now that everyone's here, we can begin this unofficial Shokugeki. I will explain the rules." He began. "You each will cook and present a vegetable dish that our panel of judges will taste, using the leftover vegetable ingredients that were not used for today. Also, Tadokoro-kun, you will be the head chef for your side. Kurogasa will be your sous chef."

"!" Megumi gasped. This was not good. She was the head chef and not Kurogasa.

"Oh man…" Kurogasa sighed. "Gin-senpai, may I ask why she's the lead chef when I issued the challenge?"

"You gave him the challenge, he is the wounded party in this situation. I made this happen when this challenge had no leg to stand on. Say that you do win and Tadokoro survives. She'll still be your tag along and she'll most likely fail another task later on. She needs to show that she can hold her own."

Kurogasa pondered at those words before sighing, "Well I guess when you put it that way, it _does_ make sense."

"Now are both, or rather, three chefs ready now?" Tendou asked the three.

"Hai!"

*CRASH!*

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON~!"

"UWA!? OREN!?" Shinomiya paled as he hid behind Tendou, "WHAT KIND OF 'MUST BE AT LEAST TEN FEET AWAY AT ALL TIMES' DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!?"

"O-Oren-san?" Kurogasa blinked.

"…Why do you smell like Ozone?" Tendou asked after noticing the air around Oren. "You didn't taser your son did you?"

"Non, zat was Beatrix."

"…Wait… Nero is…" Megumi slowly pointed to the man who was inching closer and closer to Shinomiya who was still using Tendou as a wall.

"Hmm? Ah yes, Nero is Oren's adopted son, when he went to do another tour with his troop." Tendou started as Oren just smiled victoriously, "Although I pray that Nero has the strength to put up with him."

"I heard zat!" Oren snapped.

"You were supposed to." Tendou retorted. "Anyways, why did you come crashing down here?"

"Oh my son didn't want his father to cramp his style, after I told him I got him such a nice girlfriend back home."

"G-G-Girlfriend?" Megumi stuttered, but not in shock for once, scaring Kurogasa in the process, with envy.

"Yes, a supermodel. I matched them up perfectly… ahh, why does my little boy hate his daddy so!?" Oren fell to his knee's in a chibi form as signs that said 'Worst father of the year', 'Bad parent #1' and other pointed at him.

"Er-hem!" Gin cleared his throat intentionally. "We have an unofficial Shokugeki to do right now."

"Hush, youuuuuu- HELLO THERE!" Oren quickly ran up to Gin as he saw him for the first time. "Gin, its been awhile!"

"Y-Yes, it has been." Gin said though he himself is now standing behind Tendou. "As much as we would catch up, you're interrupting the proceedings."

"Ooh poo, fine!" The man said as he took a seat next to Tendou.

"Now then." Gin cleared good throat. "Begin cooking!"

* * *

 **非公式の食戟**  
Unofficial Shokugeki

 **枢木黒笠** **·** **田所恵** **vs.** **四宮小次郎**  
Kurogasa Kururugi · Megumi Tadokoro vs. Kojiro Shinomiya

 **Theme:** Vegetables

Shinomiya already and quickly went to work as he did preparation in mere seconds. "Ah!" Tendou's eyes widened, "It seems that he didn't get that award from luck, he surpassed his old self back when I faced him."

"Yes, I visited his restaurant many times for the last few weeks. I daresay, if I run a restaurant like that near SHINO'S I might have lost badly." Oren sighed. "But look at the poor girl… she is like a leaf!" Oren was right on the money at that description, Megumi was standing there in fear of… well fear. The thought of going against a world-class chef was terrifying there was no way her dish could surpass his. She only made it this far thanks to Soma.

 _'No… I'm blanking out!'_ Megumi panicked in her thoughts. _'How can I do this? There's no way I could… I can't…'_

"Oi, Megumi-chan! Snap out of it!" Kurogasa said, causing her to do just that. "You gotta pull it together!"

"B-But Shinomiya-sensei has huge advantage over us. He has refined his skills in the birthplace of its origins… there's no way we can come close to a fraction to match his food!" The blue haired girl said as Kurogasa… bopped her head! "Ita~i!"

The alumni looked surprised that Kurogasa would do that.

"Shishou ga iteita: Fighting is something done from the stomach. Put the energy from your stomach into it!"

"K-Kuro…" Megumi looked at him surprised.

"Look if we try to copy Pinky-sensei over there," Kurogasa pointed to the man who was fuming at the name. "Then we lose without a doubt, but that's the thing, this isn't class, we aren't copying that prick's food. You have to make the food you make yourself!"

"…" Megumi still stared at him surprised.

"Look, Megumi-chan. Don't worry about what he does. You have to focus on your own cooking. Something only _you_ can make." Kurogasa said. "Right now, this isn't the time to worry about others. You have to worry about yourself right now. Shishou ga iteita: Each meal only happens once in your life, so make each one the most important." He quoted. "This is your most important as of yet. I know you can do it, Megumi-chan! I have faith in you! Walk down your Path of Heaven!"

The shy girl took a moment to think about what Kurogasa said and nodded, "I have an idea…" She then whispered to Kurogasa's ear as he smiled at the recipe. "But its has a lot of prep work and ingredients."

"That's what I'm here for. I'm your sous chef after all. I was Shishou's #2 over at Bistro La Salle, so this is nothing!" Kurogasa grinned, before he took off his chef jacket and flipped it over, showing the red side before putting it back on like a cape. "So let's do this!"

As they reenergized themselves Gin, Tendou, and Oren smiled at their enthusiasm, "He is your student, not one to take it lying down, ne Tendou?" Oren said with a soft chuckle.

"Of course. After all, a chef never runs away from the kitchen." Tendou smirked.

"Alright, Chef Megumi, tell me what to do!" Kurogasa said.

"Okay I need… you to prepare the shoulder cut! Season lightly with salt no pepper okay? Don't forget to remove the tendons!" Megumi said as she went to cut small heirloom tomatoes in halves while sprinkling sea salt on them.

"Got it." Kurogasa said, "Clock up!" He said, before he went at high speed, doing as Megumi instructed to cut the shoulder, removing the tendons, and sprinkling sea salt on them before handing it to Megumi. "Next!"

"Oi, oi!" Oren said pointing at Kurogasa's speed, "How can he do that when you and that Kagami have the only means to do it?"

"Spartan training, let's leave it at that." Tendou said.

"Kurogasa, I need you to work on the liver next! Also get the mold I need for this as well, please!"

"Yes, chef!" Kurogasa said.

Megumi herself was busy with making sauces, she cut up many certain herbs like mint, cilantro, basil and others to make almost pesto sauce. Soon Kurogasa started finely chopped mushrooms and onions to almost impossible small cuts, "How finely did you want this chopped?"

"As little as possible, I need them to be as tiny as you can make them!"

"Yes, chef!" Kurogasa responded, before continuing to meticulously cut the mushrooms and onions.

"Hoo…" Tendou smirked as his underclassmen look at him. "Maybe I trained him a little too well. He's almost taking the lead without having to break the rules."

"I'm getting the pate ready! Vegetables will be sauteed in twelve seconds!" Kurogasa said.

"Okay then, I need you to pass them to me, I will put them into the mold soon!"

"Got it!"

"What's going on?" Fuyumi wondered.

"He's staying several steps ahead of her and providing support without it impacting his own tasks." Donado observed.

"Yet he never goes beyond what's necessary." Hitoshi added. "He's monitoring her very carefully to avoid getting in her way.

"That's my student, his path to Heaven isn't for victory… at least for himself. It's for others…" Tendou said with a rueful smile. _'If I had that… maybe so many lives wouldn't have been destroyed…'_ The young chef thought as he saw his only student watching Megumi gently stuff the pate's into the mold to steam…

 _'Kurogasa… you might be able to be the only person I allow to surpass me in cooking…'_

The chefs continued their cooking and after cooking and plating their dishes…

"Alright, chefs, stop your cooking!" Gin said. "Please present your dishes to the judges!"

"Phew…" Kurogasa sighed to himself, wiping the sweat off his forehead before looking to Megumi and give her a familiar Rider's thumbs-up and a smile.

"First off I, Gin, Oren and Inui-san, will be tie breakers." The shishou of Kurogasa stated as he pointed to the three others. "The Dimwit, and the other two chefs will be the judges."

"D-Dimwit?" Donado sweat dropped, laughing nervously.

"Normally, a knife can only bring happiness when cooking, but I'll make an exception when I use it to cut your-" Tendou began, making Donado pale considerably.

"Oi Shishou, ochitsuite!" Kurogasa grabbed his teacher's hand when pulling out said knife.

"So first off, Pinky-sensei, I mean Shinomiya." Tendou smirked as the man glared at him. Shinomiya then grabbed his dishes and presented them to each of the judges.

"Hoo… chou farci." Donado said. "It's rather unexpected."

"It's regional cooking from the Auvergne region." Hitoshi said. "It's a dish where a filling of finely chopped meat and vegetables are wrapped in cabbage leaves, then steamed. Similar to a cabbage roll in Western Cuisine."

"It's a dish often made in French homes." Fuyumi added.

"That's surprising." Hinako said. "Shinomiya-senpai always makes fancy-"

*CHOP!*

"Ita~i!" Hinako cried anime tears when Shinomiya did a judo chop on her head. "W-Where's my share~?" Inui cried… while twitching in pain.

"There isn't any. Share with Fuyumi…" Shinomiya growled while walking away.

"Well then…" Donado said, before he cut his piece as did the others, before they took their pieces and placed them in their mouths. They had looks of surprise. "Me… Me… Meraviglioso!" He cried out.

"This stuffing is different from your typical pork and onion stuffing!" Hitoshi gasped. "It's a farci of jidori chicken breast meat!"

"He butterflied the chicken breasts. They were stuffed with morels, asparagus, and foie gras sauteed in beef fat, along with a smooth mousse like paste made from chicken breast meat, butter, eggs, and heavy cream. The chou farci was then steamed." Donado added.

"The mousse coats the tongue, then dissolves instantly into a rich burst of flavor in your mouth." Fuyumi commented.

"And the most fearsome ingredient of all, the Savoy cabbage that envelopes the filling." Gin said taking a bite of his dish. "It has a grassy smell when raw, but a delicate sweet flavor when cooked by blanching and steaming, heating the dish to its optimal temperature. That resulted in a delicate sweetness that elevates the flavor in the entire dish. It's like magic."

"Oh great here we go again." Tendou sighed as he saw the three chefs smiled while crying tears of joy.

"Again?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Give it a minute." Tendou deadpanned as the four started to… glow?

"What in-" Kurogasa gawked.

"Here you might need this." Tendou passed his student a pair of sunglasses, "It's about to get bright and weird in here."

However Kurogasa was too late to put them on as a golden light hit his face, " _ **LEGUME MAGIC~!**_ " Gin shouted as Kurogasa face turned into a horrified one seeing Gin, Inui, and Fuyumi starting to glow pink, red and blue.

"Cabbage Red~!" Inui said as she Magical girl dress, but with… cabbage for the shoulder and skirt…

"This…" Kurogasa eye started to twitched as he started to speak.

"Ca-Cabbage Blue!" Fuyumi shuttered when changing into the same one as Inui but in blue rather than red.

"CABBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE PINK!" Gin shouted as his changed into the same thing as well! And his buzzed bald hair turned pink!

"YES!" Donado said showing up in a Tuxedo mask costume as they all said.

 _ **"MAGICAL CABBAGE~!"**_

"This is why I stay as a Rider…" Tendou sighed. "Right Kuro-"

 **"KO-RA! THIS ISN'T SAILOR MOON OR PRETTY CURE!"** Kurogasa yelled rather comically with sharp teeth and soulless eyes, his voice almost shook the entire basement to its foundation. **"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM, SHINOMIYA?! HAAAAAAAAH?!"**

"This happened as your teacher stated… trust me I would stop if I could…" The man said, paling at the sight of this messed up scene. Then almost instantly, the said people who became… magical people turned back into their civilian forms, as they composed themselves after eating it.

"Well… that was rather delicious." Gin cleared his throat.

"YOU TURNED INTO A MAGICAL GIRL WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Kurogasa snapped comically again.

"Anyway… it's Megumi's turn." Tendou said, after washing his eyes from the odd sight, "Miss Megumi?"

"E-Eh?" Megumi said, after getting out of her stupor. "H-Hai…" She nodded before getting her dishes and presented them to the judges.

"Oh, it's a Terrine." Tendou spoke out loud when seeing the dish. "A Rainbow Terrine, made of seven different vegetables."

"Hmmmm… seven pates, one of each color." Hitoshi pondered.

"Didn't Shinomiya also have you make a terrine?" Fuyumi asked.

"Heh… trying to find fault in my recette of my Nine Vegetables Terrine huh?" Shinomiya scoffed.

"Well, let's all taste it though, shall we?" Donado said, before each of them cut a piece and ate it. "Delicious!"

"Indeed." Hitoshi nodded.

"Amazing." Fuyumi said in awe, while Hinako just hummed happily.

"She made pates from potatoes, carrots, zucchinis, and other vegetables to create layers of seven different colors." Hitoshi commented. "Each layer was prepared to maximize each vegetable's flavor. I'm impressed that she managed to pull off something so labor-intensive in such a short amount of time."

"There's two types of sauces too." Donado pointed out. "One is a sweet-and-sour sudachi gelee and the other is an astringent green herb sauce made from a paste of several different herbs, with perilla as the main component. Now that's innovation."

"Not only that, by using these two sauces, you could have 14 different types of flavors." Hitoshi realized.

"It's so exciting!" Donado said with a grin.

Hitoshi nodded as he contiuned to speak, "These strips are so appealing that it complements the whole dish visually and taste."

Tendou smiled as he finished sampling from a blushing Fuyumi's plate, "Thank you Fumi." The man bowed his head to her… completely forgetting he said her name wrong.

"Lips… touched… my… fwaa…" The woman blushed red as she held the same fork that touched her senpai's lips.

"Teme~!" Shinomiya snapped. "What do yout think you're doing?!"

"Oh I'm sorry, are you being jealous because of me?" Tendou smirked. "Well, it shouldn't be that surprising."

"I'm _this_ close to killing you right now!"

"Megumi." Tendou started as he looked at her with kind eyes, "You used sun-dried tomatoes right?"

"Don't ignore me!" Shinomiya shouted.

"H-Hai!" Megumi nodded. "Back home, we dry vegetables we harvest during the summer in the sun so we can eat them in the winter. I learned how to use the oven to dry them from my mother while helping out. When you sprinkle rock salt on halved cherry tomatoes, and slow-roast them at low temperature in an oven at 120 degrees celsius, they become sweeter and their flavor is greatly enhanced. I thought they'd be a nice flavor accent in the terrine."

"Naruhodo." Gin nodded. "Tomatoes contained glumatic acid, which is an umami compound. It's concentrated when the tomatoes are dried, greatly increasing the degree of the sweetness felt by the tongue. Shinomiya's Terrine of Nine Vegetables is a dish meant to savor the flavor of fresh vegetables, but this recette focuses on the flavor unique to vegetables prepared for preservation. While they're both vegetable terrines, one showcases the flavor of freshness, while the other the umami born of maturation. They approach vegetables as an ingredient from completely different angles."

"If Shinomiya is the Magicain of Legume, then Megumi would be someone subtly provides us with nature's bounty. A koro-pok-guru of Legumes." Donado said.

"No~! That's wrong! Megumi's dish is something that brought me happiness! She's the Household God of Legumes!" Hinako said.

"Or perhaps, she is someone who has come from the snow country to deliver the bounty of vegetables to us. She is the Snow Child of Legumes." Hitoshi said.

It then broke out into an argument as the others looked on. Fuyumi usually would add her two cents to this but was still blushing and muttering while never letting go of the fork then used… "I-Indirect Kiss…" She slowly fell backwards.

"A-Ahhh! Fuyumi-senpai!" Kurogasa panicked.

"No need to worry about Fuyumi-san, I do this alot." Tendou chuckled, "Like that one doctor."

"Oh geez…" Kurogasa facepalmed.

After they have tasted the dishes, the voting was underway.

"Now it is time to vote. Each of you have one coin. Please vote for whose dish you feel tastes better." Gin said, gesturing to a blue plate on Megumi's plate and a pink plate on Shinomiya's side.

"Then I'll start." Fuyumi said, as she approached the table. Megumi could only close her eyes as she prayed, hoping that she would win.

 _'Please… I can't afford to lose now…'_ Megumi thought as memories started flashing in her mind, from meeting Kurogasa and Soma to memories with the Polar Star Dorm students, and even all the memories up til now.

*CLINK!*

 _'Not after everything that's happened…'_

*CLINK!*

 _'I want to stay with all of my friends!'_

*CLINK!*

After hearing those three clinks. Megumi opened her eyes and her eyes widened. No coins were on her plate. All of them were on Shinomiya's.

 **四** **  
** **宮** **  
** **小** **  
** **次** **  
** **郎**

 **Winner:** Kojiro Shinomiya  
0-3

* * *

"Tadokoro-kun… it seems that Shinomiya has won by a landslide." Gin muttered.

"I… failed…" Megumi got out, shocked.

"Megumi-chan… sumunai…" Kurogasa barely whispered with his head down, the bangs of his hair, covering his eyes, as he slightly trembled. "I wish I tried harder…"

"Not so fast…" Tendou said as he smiled, "It's a tie…"

*CLINK!*

*CLINK!*

*CLINK!*

No sooner than those words left his mouth, Oren, Gin and also Inui place coins into Megumi's plate.

"W-What?" Megumi gasped surprised.

"S-Shishou…?" Kurogasa looked at his teacher with wide eyes.

"What's the meaning of this?" Shinomiya glared at Tendou.

"I told you that we're tie-breakers." Tendou said. "Did you not hear what I said, earlier before the beginning of this unofficial Shokugeki?"

"But the three offical ones place their coins, there is no need for you to change the rules!" Shinomiya glared at his rival.

"Au contraire, mon ami." Oren countered. "Zat girl has put her heart and soul into zat terrine, and you've snuffed her out before she had a chance! Really now, is zat how you always treat women? There is a rule in my pastry shop and that is: When a customer is enjoying za confections we produce for them… it is imperative nothing spoils zer experience. And in zis case, you've clearly spoiled it with your horrible dish!"

"What?!" Shinomiya snarled.

"Let me ask you something, Shinomiya-senpai…" Kurogasa muttered. "What does that Pluspol Award mean to you?"

"What do you mean?" The pink-haired man said with a glare.

"You must feel really accomplished being the first Japanese man to receive that award." Kurogasa said. "It's something that's unprecedented in the cooking world, for you to achieve something as that."

Tendou took a step forward, "To be perfectly honest… I was bit jealous of you for earning that before me, but that proved that you were a good chef… but… like my student said…" Tendou stopped as Kurogasa nodded to his teacher's words. "I believe you stopped getting better."

"What?" Shinomiya growled.

"You heard him…" Kurogasa glared. "You became stagnant…"

"Kisama…!"

"Shishou ga iteita: One that drowns in oneself will eventually fall into darkness." Kurogasa quoted before pointing at him accusingly. "You are so absorbed by pride and ego of getting that award, that you forgot everything else around you!"

"Gah…" Shinomiya gasped as he thought about the words…

"You've lost sight of moving forward!" Kurogasa said. "You're at a standstill! Stagnation is akin to regression of a chef! Your cooking has hit a wall, because you've turned a blind eye to your customers and staff who don't see things your way!"

"You were so blinded by past glory that you've forgotten that a chef is to tailor his food, to evolve and continue to create more and more wonderful dishes. You settled on good enough when your food became famous." Tendou stated with a frown. "That showed me that you've forgotten that burning desire to create those dishes that you wanted to show everyone in Europe." He then took Megumi's dish and presented it. "I want you to taste it for yourself, and see what we're talking about."

"Walk the Path of Heaven, senpai." Kurogasa glared. "Or are you so gutless to even try?"

"Tch…" Shinomiya scoffed before he took a fork and poked a piece of her dish before placing it in his mouth. "Hmph… it's plain, subpar at best." He said… but then something strange happened… he began to eat a little bit more. _'And yet why? Why does this dish speak from the heart? Yes, it's clumsy but… each detail speaks to the chef's care for the customer. It is as though as the dish unravels your tightly wounded heart.'_

"Shishou ga iteita: no matter what condiment, what ingredient… there is something greater: the love of the person cooking…" Kurogasa muttered.

…

…

…

…

Shinomiya closed his eyes, "I admit defeat…"

*CLINK!*

At that point, Tendou's coin fell on Megumi's plate.

 **決定が逆転** **  
**Decision Reversed

 **枢** **  
** **木** **  
** **黒** **  
** **笠**

.

 **田** **  
** **所** **  
** **恵**

 **Winner:** Kurogasa Kururugi & Megumi Tadokoro  
 **4-3**

* * *

"!" Megumi gasped.

"You see Shinomiya?" Tendou said. "Her hospitality is her path to Heaven. Even in a competition, she tried to be considerate towards the people who'll be eating her dish. That may be something you need in order to find a way to proceed beyond that pinnacle."

"I know, it's hard to admit that the person I was trying to expel was this talented."

"Muu~ you're such a bad sport, Shinomiya-senpai." Hinako pouted comically, before Shinomiya clenched her head with one hand and lifted her up. "Gomenasa~i!"

"So, we have a clear winner?" Gin asked.

"Yes. Megumi, congratulations." Tendou said. "You get to stay."

Megumi couldn't help but cry tears of joy as she fell to her knees, crying while covering her face. Kurogasa could only smile sadly as he placed a hand on her shoulder for comfort while the other alumni looked on with smiles.

* * *

After everyone had dispersed, Tendou, Kurogasa, and Megumi went out of the basement and out into the outside world where it was already night time. "Oh man, it's already dark out?" Kurogasa asked amazed at how much time already passed by.

"So it seems." Megumi said as she look towards Kurogasa. "Thank you… for saving me."

"Nah, I didn't do anything." Kurogasa waved off. "I just gave you the extra push to believe in yourself and your abilities."

"But… you really did help me." Megumi smiled a bit.

"Anyways, you should be heading out. Your friends are probably worried about you." Tendou said. "After all, the basement has no reception and you probably have a lot of missed calls."

"Ah!" Megumi realized. "Y-You're right." She said, before turning to Kurogasa again. "Thank you again…" She said, before walking up to Kurogasa and-

*CHU!*

-kissed him on the cheek.

"!" Kurogasa stiffened, blushing red.

"S-Sorry, I just wanted to give you a gift for this. Don't tell Nero…" Megumi said with a shy smile before she walked away.

"Uh… okay." Kurogasa blinked.

"Looks like you're two-timing. Don't you already have Na-chan?" Tendou smirked.

"O-Oi! Don't joke like that, Shishou!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

"Hai, hai," Tendou said. "Anyways, there's one more thing I need to address."

"What is it?" Kurogasa asked.

"Rider Kick…"

*WHABAM!*

"ITEEEEEE!" Kurogasa wailed as he was roundhouse kicked to the head, sending Kurogasa spinning before he hit the wall face first. "Ow…" He wheezed as a lump came out of his head, while smoke trailed off.

"That was very rash of you to challenge Shinomiya." Tendou reprimanded.

"He was about to expel her! I had to do _some_ thing!" Kurogasa retorted comically after getting himself off the wall.

"I would've talk to Gin or the headmaster back at your school to prevent that! Remember who I am?"

"Mmmmmmmmm…" Kurogasa pouted, looking away while crossing his arms.

"Mattaku, you're just as rash as Kagami." Tendou shook his head, but smiled a bit, "But you're also straightforward like him too. And care for your friends like him as well."

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Remember that you have the skills to win, it's up to you from now on to be a great chef." Tendou said as he left waving his hand to Kurogasa as he walked away.

"H… Hai…" Kurogasa got out.

"Good, you're like family, so I know you will be the best…"

"Hai." Kurogasa nodded.

* * *

After a long walk from the basement, back to the hotel, he walked over to his room to turn in for the night. "So tired…" Kurogasa sighed to himself as he opened the door.

"Yo, you're back!" Soma called out.

"Yo," He waved back.

"KUROGASA!"

*BONK!*

"ITEEEEE!"

"What were you thinking, challenging an alumnus to a Shokugeki huh?! You had us worried sick!" Yuki shouted as he shook constantly. Apparently, all of the Polar Star members have met in his room, Megumi being among them since she got back first before he did.

"So-rry! Ple-ase! Stop! Sha-king! Me! Aaaahaaahaaahaaahaaahaaah! I'm gonna hurl!" Kurogasa got out. Eventually Yuki stopped shaking him.

"And what did you do to Megumi?!" Shiki demanded.

"Huh?" Kurogasa asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb! She was blushing when she came back here!"

"!" Kurogasa flinched, blushing red as well.

"Good lu~ck!" Beatrix said as she opened a container of oversize mallets, bats, and other comical weaponry.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

 **Fen:** And there we go, another chapter down! Yes, I know, it's supposed to be Soma and Megumi vs. Shinomiya, but you should know by now that Queen and I like to do things differently.

 **AQ:** _Guess who's back? Back again? Shady back~! Tell a friend~!_ ***Dances around***

 **Fen:** And she's still singing and dancing…

 **AQ:** _So the FCC Won's let me be~!_ Shut up Fen, I love singing~! You would too if you lost your voice.

 **Fen:** Well true. Oh, by the way guys, as a treat for being away for so long, it's gonna be a double feature!

 **AQ:** Double? But I thought you made a Kamen Rider W fic already?

 **Fen:** Not that kind of double…

 **AQ:** Ohh… whatever.

 **Fen:** Anyways, see ya on the next Main Course!


	9. Dish 9

**Fen:** Hey guys, Fen and Queen here for the second half of our double feature and man I'm so excited for this one! XD

 **AQ** : Yup still singing here too! This time Unravel!

 **Fen:** For this one, Kurogasa and Erina are-

 **Kurogasa:** NO! Don't spoil it!

 **AQ:** Thank you, Kurogasa!

 **Fen:** Party poopers… ¬_¬

 **AQ:** Then stop trying ruining your own works.

 **Fen:** Oh fine…

 **AQ:** Time to start this chapter!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

It was now the third day of the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp. Last night's event of the unofficial Shokugeki between Kojiro Shinomiya and Kurogasa Kururugi and Megumi Tadokoro was eventful. The battle against the Légumes Magician was no doubt a Herculean task. After all, he had the advantage. Initially, he had won, but somehow someway it turned towards Megumi and Kurogasa thanks to Oren, Gin, Hinako, and Tendou. Meaning that she and Kurogasa got to stay. His Shishou though had reprimanded him for being brash in making the challenge, but seeing as how loyal he was to his friends and protecting them, he let it slide. After that, Megumi and Kurogasa had returned to their friends and they were all demanding explanations, which he did.

As of right now, the 92nd Generation students were doing their thing, cooking like it was their last day at the camp. The Polar Star students were also doing their best to stay in this camp as well. In the case of Kurogasa and Megumi, they were in the same group once more and this time their dishes involved ramen in one way or another.

"Mmmm…" The teacher nodded in approval. "You pass! You can clean your station Megumi Tadokoro!"

"Thank you!" Megumi smiled brightly before going over to her station, until accidently bumping into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"S-S-S-S-Sorry!" Megumi panicked.

Kurogasa was watching this from afar as he smiled a bit. _'Nice work, Megumi-chan. You got some rough patches, but you're pulling through.'_ He thought to himself.

He then remembered about last night, about how Shinomiya had beaten him and Megumi soundly before the decision was reversed. That smug smirk on his face downright irritated him. _'We won but_ _…_ _it's not enough… not enough. Fine!'_ He then pulled out the ramen that was boiling in the metal basket before shaking off the excess water. _'I have to improve. I have to!'_

Unbeknownst to him, from the corner, Tendou and Oren were watching from afar.

"Your student looks to be improving." Oren commented.

"But he has a long way to go." Tenou replied.

"…I don't like ze girl going after my boy!" Oren comically whispered loudly.

"Megumi?" Tendou raised an eyebrow. "She seems rather sweet."

"What's her sign?" Oren demanded.

"December 19. Sagittarius."

"Zat's Nero's sign…" Oren's eye twitched.

"And how is that a problem?"

"That means he has a possible compatibility with each other, my baby boy might leave me~!"

"It won't be right away."

*POP!*

"You're overthinking this. Let time do its thing and we'll see what happens."

"I'm still keeping an eye on zat girl…" Oren growled.

"You endorsed her dish yesterday."

"Only because zat Shinomiya boy knows nothing about a woman's heart." Oren retorted.

"Oh Oren," Tendou sighed.

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix.  
 **(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy.  
 **(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them.  
 **(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background.  
 **(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot.  
 **(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures.  
 **(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 9:** Breakfast Sushi

It was now the night of the third day and everyone in the Polar Star dorm were walking down the hallway towards their room and they were exhausted as they were in their yukatas.

"Man… today is so tiring…" Yuki groaned with her head hung down and her shoulders slumped.

"You're telling me…" Nero groaned too on the same state.

"What's wrong with _you_?" Soma asked.

"Hmm, maybe being tazed and getting hugged by an annoying idiot might be a reason." Nero growled.

"Who would that be?" Soma wondered.

"Oh like you care!" Nero snapped.

"Whoa easy, relax." Soma raised his hands.

"Hey, is it just me or is there no lights out scheduled?" Beatrix furrowed her brows while looking at itinerary.

"…Crap Baskets." Nero said, "That means we're going to work at night too!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Yuki and Marui freaked out.

"Calm down, it's probably just a mistake in the schedule." Ryoko said.

"I highly doubt it." Shun said. "It's on all the itinerary. They wouldn't make this kind of blunder on purpose without a good reason."

"Beatrix did chef Ramsay do things like this?" Nero asked Beatrix with a deadpan tone.

"Constantly when I was training with him, when you work for Ramsay that old saying 'Shit happens' HAPPENS EVERY-FREAKIN-TIME!" Beatrix said.

Just then a PA announcement rang in the hotel. [ **"Students of Tōtsuki Academy. One hour from now, at 10 o'clock, you will all meet in the banquet hall in your uniforms."** ] Gin's voice rang out, making all of them groan.

"See? What did I tell ya?" Beatrix groaned.

* * *

And so the Polar Star students went back to their rooms and got dressed up in their uniforms before walking back over to the banquet hall where all the students first met. However, upon looking at the crowd now, they saw that the number of students have dropped significantly. Not to mention that they were stressed and exhausted.

"Man, the alumni really thinned out the student body." Kurogasa commented.

"KUROGASA!" Takumi, Mito, Hojo, and Nao shouted as they ran up to him and-

*POW!*

-punched him in the face?!

"ITEEEEEEE!" Kurogasa cried out holding his nose before he managed to crack his nose back into place.

"Don't you dare pull that kind of stunt again!" Mito snapped.

"What were you thinking, challenging an alumnus to a Shokugeki, huh?!" Takumi added.

"You really are an idiot, you know that?" Hojo fumed.

"W-We were so worried about you!" Nao added.

"S-Sorry. But wait a minute, you guys heard about that?!" Kurogasa asked surprised. No one was supposed to know about that unofficial Shokugeki, other than himself, Megumi, Tendou, Gin, and the rest of the alumni that were there. How did they find out? It was supposed to be a secret!

"Some weird guy told us when he was trying to look for one of your friends, he had a french accent."

"Oren… figures…" Kurogasa sighed.

"Who?" Nao asked.

"A friend of my Shishou."

"But hold on. If you're still here…" Hojo began before she gasped. "Does that mean that you beat Chef Shinomiya?!"

"Uh… technically, no." Kurogasa sweat dropped. "Let's say that Shinomiya and I came to an understanding."

"Understanding my ass." Nero said walking towards him, "If dad told me what was true, you beat him and show him your Heaven thingy."

"Uh… would you get mad at me if I told you I was Megumi's sous chef at the time…?" He asked sheepishly.

"Why would I be angry? It's not like me and her are in a relationship." Nero said as the others sweatdrop at his words.

"But… technically Megumi was the head chef against Shinomiya-senpai, meaning on a technicality, Megumi… beat him."

…

…

…

…

"Again so?" Nero asked. "Where are you going with this?"

"You really don't understand the implications do you…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"What, that you guys won? Just because Oren is my dad, doesn't mean I have to beat Shinomiya." Nero sighed. "I mean it's not like you have a duty to your teacher to beat his enemies."

"Well no, but…"

"But nothing, it's up to the student to walk on his own!" Nero declared with pride in his tone causing Kurogasa to shrink. "NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO RULE YOUR PATH, NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE SWAYED!"

"Uh… okay?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Down boy, heel." Beatrix said, before tasering Nero again.

"DAHGAGALLGGLGAGL~!" Nero shouted before he fell on the floor twitching.

"What's with _him_?" Hojo raised an eyebrow.

"He's… weird." Nao added.

"Did you _not_ see the taser?!" Kurogasa yelled.

"Hey look, it's Erina-sama!" One student said, as they turned to see said person, walking in gracefully as ever.

"E-Erina…" Kurogasa got out as she approached him.

"What's this I heard about you going against an alumnus in a Shokugeki?" Erina slightly frowned, making him flinch.

"Ehehe… that was supposed to be a secret." Kurogasa said sheepishly with a sweat drop.

*BONK!*

"Ite!" Kurogasa cried out, as he was bonked on the head by her.

"Fool! What were you thinking?! Chef Shinomiya was the first seat of the Elite Ten back in his day! You expect to beat him with the way you are now?!" Erina snapped comically.

"Geez… never knew you cared _that_ much." Kurogasa muttered, rubbing his head.

"T-That's not the point!" Erina stuttered, blushing slightly.

"Then what is?" Kurogasa retorted.

"Tsun… dere…" Nero chuckled from his spot.

*STOMP!*

"ITEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Nero wailed when Erina stomped on his head.

"I am not tsundere!" Erina snapped.

"Hai…" Nero whimpered.

"Look, just… don't do it again, got it?" Erina glared at Kurogasa.

"Alright, I'm sorry…" Kurogasa sighed before smiling a bit. "I won't do it again."

"All eyes towards the stage." Gin's voice said, as the students turned to him who was at the podium. "You are all gathered here for one reason, and for one reason only… to explain to you what tomorrow's task will be."

"Why tell us this now?" Ryoko wondered.

"The task will be to create a new breakfast menu worthy of being served to guests at this resort." Gin explained. "Breakfasts are the face of the hotel. It is an important meal that starts the guests' day. I'd like you all to suggest an innovate dish that will make a vibrant contribution to the breakfast table." He then pulled out something from his jacket and it was an egg. "The main ingredient will be the egg."

 _'Just like in my transfer exam.'_ Kurogasa thought to himself.

"We won't restrict the cuisine genre, but the dish must be served buffet style. The judging will begin at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning. Make preparations so that you're ready for tastings by then." Gin continued.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!" All of the students groaned save for some.

"I hope he means 6 o'clock tomorrow evening, right?" Yuki hoped.

"No. He definitely said morning." Shun replied.

"That means we have no time to waste on sleep!" Marui wailed.

"You may spend your time freely until morning, you can test recipes in the various kitchen facilities, or get rest in your room. I'll see you all again in the morning. Dismissed!"

"No way!"

"I'm already in pieces!"

"My brain's barely working as it is!"

"Finally, a task worth competing over." Takumi smirked as the students began to slowly leave before turning to Soma and Kurogasa. "Just you wait, Yukihira, Kururugi." He said, before suddenly getting passionate. "I'll deliver up the ultimate breakfast of a traditional Italian egg dish that's been arranged using the Aldinis' expertise!"

"Heh~ what's in a traditional Italian egg dish?" Soma asked blankly.

"You use cheese and vegetables with eggs, and-" Isami suddenly said.

"Don't spill the beans, Isami!" Takumi shouted.

"We're all gonna see what you and the rest of these guys are cooking. So I don't see why you have to hide it." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"W-Well that's true, but it's not like you're going to tell yours right?" Takumi said with a frown.

Kurogasa shrugged at that before looking to Erina who approached. "So… it's gonna be like that transfer exam on the first day, huh?" He said to her sheepishly.

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"The Main ingredient will be the egg. Make one dish. I'll only allow those whose creations impress my palate. Furthermore, I will allow those who wish to withdraw and cancel their application to do so within the next minute only." Erina said with a cool smile on her face._

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"Hopefully you made it simple enough yet tasty for a buffet style."Erina said, "This isn't a speed course you know."

"Well, I'm not worried about that. I just hope I don't… make you cry like last time…"

"MHM!" Erina's eyes widened as she had no control over what she did next…

*STOMP!*

"OWW! What was _that_ for?!"

"What I should've done at the opening ceremony!"

"You mean… the flowers weren't enough…?" Kurogasa slightly paled. Once again Erina's eyes widened but this time her face turned into a perfect imitation of a tomato!

*STOOOOOOOOMP!*

"ITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Kurogasa wailed in pain. "WHAT DID I DO _NOW_?!"

"Just shut up!" Erina demanded as for some reason she felt totally embarrassed by this.

"Okay just stop stepping on my feet!" Kurogasa brought out his hands upward to simulate surrendering. Erina brought her foot up and Kurogasa knelt on one knee to nurse his injured foot. "That hurt…"

"It was supposed to!" Erina huffed before stomping away.

"Wow, what did you do to get her so mad?" Soma asked.

"I didn't do anything…" Kurogasa whimpered.

* * *

This was definitely not good.

How was Kurogasa supposed to create a new menu item when he can't get any sleep? Gin Dojima was really putting the students through the wringer. All of the students were tired and their bodies can't handle the stress, but they had to keep going. It's only been three days at this training camp and they had two more to go. How much longer can they take before their bodies give in? One thing's for certain, it was only a matter of time.

As of now, Kurogasa had managed to secure a spot in the kitchen so he could experiment. Sure, he managed to get through the third day relatively easy. It was nothing compared to the unofficial Shokugeki that he, Soma, and Megumi had against Kojiro Shinomiya. But even then, his body had shown signs of wearing down.

"Hehhhhhhh… man, I really hope Erina has calmed down by now…" Kurogasa sighed to himself before snapping out of it. "Okay… let's focus on this. I have to use egg as the main ingredient… and it has to be buffet style." Kurogasa muttered as he was remembering what Gin had said.

 _'An innovative dish that will make a vibrant contribution to the breakfast table.'_

"It has to be something innovative and creative. It can't just be there for the sake of being different. It has to be something classic and be worthy of a luxury hotel, but it can't be _too_ fancy either…" Kurogasa muttered as he began to think. "A breakfast casserole…? No, that would take too long… too much prepping and cooking. It has to be something that will be ready to serve as soon as possible…"

What can he make that's easy, not time consuming, and classic?

…

…

…

…

"That's it!" Kurogasa realized as he began to write down what he needed. _'I know just what to make. I'll make a breakfast sushi since that's my true forte. Sure, I'll probably have to prep everything now, but if I time it right, I should be able to do it. They're a classic amongst us Japanese, it's easy to make, at least for me, and not time consuming since I'll be prepping everything tonight.'_

He continued to write as the idea started to form in his mind, _'Since everyone is going to making their dishes buffet style, there's no doubt that there will be a lot of people so I have to make a lot. I don't know how much, but I'll have to estimate.'_ He added. _'Let's see… for a typical serving of six pieces of sushi, that will be half a cup of rice and with two people, that's a full cup. So then I'll probably need about 800 cups of sushi rice to make this happen along with the rice vinegar needed. And as for the eggs, each portion would be two eggs per person. So if I do this without any mistakes, I can use about 600 eggs, I'll go 700 just to be safe. And as the nori sheets, probably 300.'_

He nodded to himself, as he kept writing. _'I'll base this breakfast sushi on the California Roll. Once I finish scrambling the eggs, I'll cut them and after putting the rice on the nori sheet and flipping them over, I can put the sliced scrambled eggs on top of the nori and then roll it up. I can also probably cook bacon bits as well and use them as garnish. The average serving for bacon bits is about a tablespoon, so probably 200 strips of bacon. If I cut them up now into bits, I can cook them at the judging and it'll be fresh and crispy by the time I serve. I just have to time everything right and pace myself. Yosh… I got my menu item figured out!'_

"Heh~ that looks like a pretty interesting breakfast dish." A female voice said.

"Huh?" Kurogasa was snapped out of his thought when someone talked to him and looked up to see who it was. He blushed at the sight of a beautiful girl.

She had short silver hair with a longer left bang that reached the bottom of her chin. She also had fair skin and a large bust, like a certain other someone. Her red eyes are a little different having much more pronounced irises. And unlike most of her fellow classmates, who wear a standard Tōtsuki uniform jacket, she opted to wear a cream-colored Tōtsuki uniform vest instead.

"Uh… thanks?" Kurogasa blinked. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Mm?" The girl tilted her head with an easygoing smile. "You don't remember me, Kuro?"

"Eh? You know me? I know you?" Kurogasa tilted his head.

"You do… but it seems you forgot your girlfriend." The girl pouted at the boy.

"EHHHHHHH?!" Kurogasa said slipping on the floor and landing on his rear end. "What do you mean girlfriend?!"

"You really don't remember, do you… mou~" The girl pouted harder. "I'm sure the name Alice Nakiri rings a bell?"

…

…

…

…

"Huh? Wait, Nakiri? You share Erina's family name?" Kurogasa asked a bit surprised after getting up.

However it was the wrong thing to say as Alice now had a mock angry pout, "MOU! ERINA, ERINA, ERINA! You're my boyfriend but you always think of my cousin!"

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?! Boyfriend?!" Kurogasa yelled comically.

"Mou… let me guess. You don't even remember our first time either…" The girl turned around hiding her mischievous smile.

"F-F-F-F-FIRST!?"

"Alice…"

The said girl flinched before turning around to see Erina standing there, with a frown while crossing her arms. "Just what are you doing…?" She muttered darkly.

"Oh, I didn't know that I was stealing your boyfriend." Alice said while draping her arms around Kurogasa. "But I want him too." The albino girl said with a teasing smirk.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"He's not my boyfriend! He's just a friend!" Erina blushed as she pointed at Alice. "I barely know him since the school year started."

"Eh" Alice said looking between the boy and her cousin. ' _Does she really not remember… ohoho, less competition.'_ "Okay, so you don't mind if I take him then?"

"WAIT, WHAT?!" Kurogasa shouted. "Hold on! I never agreed to this!"

"Aww… you don't want me as a girlfriend?" Alice said with a trembling bottom lip.

"I-Its not that! It's just… just…" Kurogasa stammered, looking away. _'What have I gotten myself into?! Someone save me!'_

"I don't hear a no…" Alice leaned in with her lips coming near Kurogasa's.

"Hey, hands off!" Erina snapped, pulling Alice back away from Kurogasa, much to his relief.

"Ohh, so you _do_ have feelings for him?" Alice said with a knowing look.

"I didn't say that!"

"But surely there's something going on between you two since he gives you dishes to try on a regular basis. And you enjoy his food too."

"H-How do you know that?!" Erina shouted.

Alice snickered as she leaned in to Erina's ear, "I don't mind sharing him with you. As long as we have fun _together_." Erina's face went really red and steam came out of her ears.

"Uh… am I missing something?" Kurogasa asked nervously.

"Nothing, Erina was leaving. So back to us." Alice said using her elbows to keep her up when she laid her upper body on the table.

"No it's _you_ that's leaving. You're disturbing him." Erina said.

"No I wasn't!" Alice whined like a child who was losing an argument. "I wanted to ask him some stuff."

"Do that after the breakfast challenge. Now leave!" Erina commanded.

"Yada~! I don't wanna~!" Alice said holding onto the table as Erina tried to remove her by pulling her legs.

"Actually, I really need to concentrate, so… can we talk later? Please?" Kurogasa asked nicely.

"Fine…" Alice sighed before Erina let go of her and the former stood in front of him with her eyes closed and her hands behind her back before opening her eyes again. "I guess I'll see you after the challenge. Then we can talk more… personally." She walked up and gave a quick kiss on his cheek, making him blush a bit. "Gokigenyou!" she said, before turning around to leave, with an extra sway to her hips. But not before she bumped into someone. "Itai!" She cried out before looking up to see a familiar guy with black lines under his eyes. "Mou~ Ryo-kun, watch where you're standing!"

"But you told me to stand here" Ryo answered.

"Ah! You!" Kurogasa pointed. "I met you at the Tsukiji Market!"

"Hm~? Ah… it's you." Ryo recognized.

"Oh?" Alice said taking on her comical form as she placed a hand on her cheek, "When was this?"

"It was during my bout with Hojo Miyoko in our Sushi Shokugeki." Kurogasa said. "He helped me pick out some fish."

"Oh… so _that's_ why you were late!" Alice said patting the boy's shoulder. "Good job, aiding my future husband~!"

"Hai." Ryo deadpanned.

"Future husband?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"Okay, that's enough out of you. Go!" Erina stomped her foot and pointed towards a direction.

"Mou~ fine. Iku wa yo, Ryo-kun." Alice pouted before turning away to walk off.

"Hai, hai." Ryo said, before following her.

"Ohhh, Alice you… ahhhhhhhh… I give up…" She then turned to Kurogasa. "I'm sorry about her. She can be a handful." Erina apologized. "Though I've never seen her that… close to a guy before, well save for her attendant."

"I see." Kurogasa chuckled sheepishly. Erina then noticed the paper he was writing and quickly snatched it to give it a read. "O-Oi, what are you-"

"Hmm… this might be too much for you, Kurogasa." Erina said after reading it.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Kurogasa wondered.

"Washing and cooking the rice might be too much work, not only that there's also prepping of the other ingredients." Erina explained.

"Hmmmmm… really?" Kurogasa tilted his head with an unsure look. "I mean they're easy to make, it's classic, and it's not that time consuming like other breakfast dishes."

"True, but like I said it may seem like that… but can you keep it up for nearly 200 people?" Erina asked rhetorically.

"Wait, what? 200 people?" Kurogasa blinked. "Gin-senpai didn't say anything about that when he told us what we were gonna do."

"I got a notice by my seniors," Erina explained, "This happens every year."

"I… see…" Kurogasa blinked.

"But remember, this isn't a matter of speed, but stamina… don't kill yourself." Erina said an actual worried look.

"I've been enduring stuff for a long time…" Kurogasa looked down with a sad smile. "Especially enduring trying to find someone for the past ten years…"

"I see… I can relate to that. But you will have to pace yourself."

"Of course." He nodded before he raised a finger in the air. "Shishou ga iteita: 'If you wish it to be so, luck will always be on your side.'"

"Words from your shishou?"

"Mhmm. I've always taken his teachings to heart, and I'm not gonna stop now." Kurogasa nodded firmly. "I _will_ beat this challenge. So I can get through all of this and one day find that person."

"Well good luck, but I still say you should change recipes. You don't want to get kicked out yet, do you?" Was all Erina said before leaving.

"Ha! Me, being kicked out? Who do you think I am huh?!" Kurogasa called out good-naturedly.

"AN IDIOT!" Erina called out.

"THAT'S LOVABLE IDIOT TO YOU!"

"ADD HANDSOME TO THAT!" Alice's voice also came out.

"SHUT UP ALICE!" Erina shouted.

* * *

The next day…

"Uwhoooooooooooooooooa!" Soma shouted amazed as he came into Buffet Hall A where there were many cooking stations set throughout the entire hall. In the hall, were Megumi, Takumi, and of course Kurogasa. "This hall is huge!" He added, though looking at Kurogasa, he was already doing preparation for his breakfast dish. He was getting the sushi rice ready after it was cooked and placed in a very large wooden bowl, rice vinegar being poured in and slashing the rice before fanning it with a paper plate to cool it off.

"Dude, you're such a kid…" Beatrix giggled dragging Nero with her.

"Eh?" Soma blinked. "Oh hey."

"Help… me…" Nero begged.

"Why?"

"Oh don't, he's just tired from having his dad over." Beatrix smiled.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhh…" Shiki groaned before Beatrix dragged him to their spot.

"Huh…" Soma got out.

"Yosh… all done with prepping." Kurogasa said as he finished cooling down the rice. It was a good thing he had asked Gin to make an acception. Since sushi will take a good amount of time to cook, it wouldn't be fair if he had no rice to begin with at the start of the judging, so he had taken the precautions to prep before judging. The same thing with the bacon bits since he 200 slices and needed to cook them so that he use them as garnish right away.

"Ha, too bad for you. I don't need to prep." Nero smiled. "I got permission of my own to serve my drinks to the adults, I also got some kiddie drinks for the brats."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just don't get them drunk on their first take." Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Dude, bartender's code. It's up to the drinker, not me."

"I thought the code was to get the girls drunk." Beatrix said.

"No… that's _your_ code." Nero deadpanned.

"Oh ye~ah…"

"Please don't, Bea…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Don't worry, I won't use my big guns for the drinks rest assured." Nero raised his right hand up to make Kurogasa sigh in relief. The latter then heard the sound of trays being set on the counter and he looked to see… Erina?

"Not that I mind, but we're seeing each other more often in this camp." Kurogasa commented to her.

"Oh, for the love of- just make out you two!" Beatrix roared, "There's so much sexual tension here, that it's annoying!"

"WHAT?!" Kurogasa and Erina gawked at her.

"Come o~n," Beatrix put her hands behind the two teens backs and pushed them together, "Kiss… KISS… KI~SS!"

"O-OI! What are you doing?!" Kurogasa panicked trying to resist.

"Get your hands off me!" Erina panicked too.

"See you guys wanna kiss… so ki~ss!"

"Oh mon ami~ what are you doing?" Oren said, suddenly behind her. "Are you speeding up their love?"

"Ha~i!"

"Non, non, non, non, non! You must let time do its thing!" Oren chided as he pulled her back, and Kurogasa and Erina breathed in relief and pulled back.

"H-Hey, Oren-san, it's been a while, even though I've seen you yesterday." Kurogasa said, waving at him weakly.

"Kuro~!" Oren smiled kindly, "Hmm, well aren't you a handsome boya~?"

"Well, yeah," Kurogasa said sheepishly. "How's that pastry shop of yours? Jounouchi taking care of it?"

"Good and so is my young student," Oren nodded to himself, "We always welcome new handsome young men like yourse~lf."

"I'll… think about it." Kurogasa smiled with a sweat drop.

[ **"Students, may I please have your attention."** ] Gin's voice rang as the television screens at all corners of the hall showed Gin's face with a microphone in hand.

"And zat is my cue to go. Good lu~ck!" Oren said, before leaving.

[ **"I presume that each of you are ready to present your dish."** ] Gin said. [ **"I will now explain the conditions for passing the test. First, I will introduce the judges."** ] At the point, the doors opened and many people and children came walking or running into the halls, eager and waiting to have their breakfasts this morning. Much of the students were started to be overwhelmed by the people coming in. [ **"As you can see, they are people who grow and produce ingredients for Tōtsuki Resort Hotels, and their families. Every year, they serve as judges for this camp. I've informed them about the theme being an inspired egg dish. And their judging is quite accurate."** ]

"There's so many…" Megumi said to herself, worriedly.

"Man, I knew there was gonna be so many people for the buffet, but not _this_ many." Kurogasa said to himself, but then shook his head. "No, I gotta focus. I got this covered."

[ **"Tōtsuki Resort's cooking and service staff will also join the judging team."** ] Gin further added.

"That's Sakuma Tokihiko, the steward of the resort!" One said.

"There's even Chef Dojima's right-hand chef!" Another added.

[ **"There are two judging criteria. One is whether your dish presents an inspiration worthy of acknowledgment by professional producers and staff. The other is to prepare and serve more than 200 servings within the next two hours."** ] Gin further explained.

 _'I see. There are men and women, young and old-a wide range in customers.'_ Takumi thought as he looked around. _'So they're providing an accurate reproduction of a breakfast at a hotel. This challenge closely mimics a real-life situation.'_

[ **"Those who fulfill those two criteria will pass the test. Without further ado, honored judges, please enjoy the breakfast. Let the judging begin!"** ]

* * *

And so the breakfast competition went underway as the students in the various halls went fighting against the clock, hoping to serve 200 dishes in two hours and pass. At Takumi's station, he had made an Italian frittata, which was a popular egg dish among italians. However, he had chopped the frittata into pieces, added them in the salad to toss, then finished off with balsamic vinaigrette and parmesan cheese that he sprinkled onto them, making an insalata frittata. It made quite an impact on two staff members as the raw vegetables complimented the frittata itself.

As for Megumi, she made a single-bite breakfast oden, which consisted of boiled quail egg, fried tofu, cooked octopus, and boiled carrots and brussel sprouts that was in a mild broth. Three of her customers were in content as it had a comforting taste and the appearance was colorful. One of them even asked to marry his grandson which surprised Megumi.

Mito had made a loco moco donburi. Gin's right-hand chef had tasted it and was impressed. Loco moco would typically use a gravy sauce, but the one Mito made used a sauce vinaigrette and the light acidity of the white wine vinegar heightened the creamy texture of the yolk and the juiciness of the meat.

For Erina, she had made an Eggs Benedict, a dish consisting of an English muffin, topped with poached eggs and bacon and such, then topped with a slightly acidic hollandaise sauce, a mainstay in the American breakfast menu. But Erina added a twist to it, she sprinkled dried mullet roe powder on the muffins. Salted roe is another type of egg. The refined saltiness of the roe came together with the chicken egg yolk to produce this deep flavor and she had people coming to her station en masse. Even the steward of the resort even approved of this.

Alice had made an egg plate what was served in three forms. The first looked like it was a raw egg but upon closer inspection, the "white" is a gelee made from diluted seawater and the "yolk" is salmon roe held together within the gelatin. The second looked like a boiled egg, but the "white" is a white asparagus mousse, and the "yolk" is the sauce hollandaise made from egg yolks. The third looked like an "egg" but it was actually a milkshake you drink with a straw. Alice had injected a milkshake she made from eggs, milk, and caramel into the empty shell. Upon the people tasting it, they felt a mildness and refreshing aftertaste which are a perfect complement to a morning meal.

As to what Soma was making, it was an omelette souffle. He would whip the egg whites into a meringue before cooking the dish, so the omelette will have a special fluffy texture. Once it was finished cooking, he would finish it off with tomato sauce and parsley.

Nero had a bar with with his any kind of liquor that was there, as he mixed drinks with eggs and had also made a non-alcoholic and alcoholic sign above him. This way there were two lines, one for the kids and the other for the adults. For the kids, it was a non-alcoholic eggnog consisting of eggs, sugar, a pinch of salt, then tempered it with the milk so it wouldn't scramble for about four to five minutes so it cooked like a custard, after that he would use vanilla extract, egg whites already cooked, nutmeg, and whipped cream. For the adults, it was the same version, only adding bourbon to the mix.

Beatrix was wearing a white apron as she had her hair tied into a ponytail, pull out pastries from her ovens. The pastries were muffins of all kinds, waffles, cinnamon rolls, scones, cookies, cake pops and many more.

As for what Kurogasa did for his dish, he followed his recipe to the letter. Once he was finished scrambling the eggs, he cut them into slices and after placing the nori sheet on the mat and spreading the rice on the mat, he sprinkled some bacon bits on it before flipping them over and putting the sliced scrambled eggs on top of the nori and then rolled it up with the mat before cutting them into six pieces and standing them up in an arranged bunch before placing more bacon bits on top for garnish.

"Oh, what have we here?" the steward, Sakuma asked as he approached Kurogasa's station after having Erina's Egg Benedict. "A breakfast sushi?"

"Hai. I based it on the California Roll." Kurogasa nodded. "I mixed in the bacon bits with the rice, with the sliced eggs in the middle as the filling. Go ahead."

"Boo, that sucks!" Beatrix yelled over to Kurogasa. "It's got nothing over my swee~ts!"

"Let's have a taste shall we?" Sakuma said as he picked up a plate and a pair of chopsticks before placing one piece in his mouth. His eyes widened at the taste. "My, my, this flavor is rather unique."

"WHAT?!" Beatrix gawked, before raising a hand. "Can't, it's my rule not to eat while cooking. Save me piece later if you can."

"No promises." Kurogasa said.

And so the minutes had dwindled down as the students kept cooking and serving their breakfast dishes. By then it was a little over 30 minutes left.

[ **"Ryoko Sakaki, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Yuki Yoshino, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Takumi Aldini, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Isami Aldini, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Shun Ibusaki, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Marui Zenji, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Daigo Aoki, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Shoji Sato, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Mito Ikumi, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Nao Sadatsuka, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Miyoko Hojo, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Ryo Kurokiba, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Alice Nakiri, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Erina Nakiri, 200 servings complete!"** ]

"This drink is so amazing!" A woman said turning red as she took another shot of Nero's eggnog while eating some roasted nuts. "Ahh… it's like drinking love…"

[ **"Megumi Tadokoro, 200 servings complete!"** ]

"Mommy~ I want more sweets from the girl!" A horde of children cried as they around Beatrix who continued to send more sweets to the adults and young children.

[ **"Shiki Kishi, 200 servings complete!"** ]

[ **"Beatrix Altair, 200 servings complete!"** ]

"Hmmm…" Alice looked over to Kurogasa when she already finished cleaning her station. "Oh my, some people don't know what they're missing."

"Shoot, this isn't good…" Kurogasa gritted as he only had 50 plates served. "I only got thirty minutes left and only 50 people came to my station." He looked over to Soma who wasn't doing good either and he had only 10 plates served. "Crap, Soma's even worse with his omelette souffle."

"Hello!"

"AH!" Kurogasa cried out, seeing Alice in front of him. "A-Alice?"

"I'll take one, it's my cheat day after all~!" Alice said taking a piece of Sushi and popped into her mouth. "Ummaaaaaaaaaaaaaai!" Alice squealed with joy after tasting his breakfast sushi.

"Ehhh?!" Kurogasa said surprised.

"This is delicious! The saltiness of the bacon with the fluffiness of the egg and rice, compliments so well with each other!" Alice said holding her cheeks. "Hey everyone! Come try this breakfast dish out! It's so gooood!"

At that point, the customers started flooding in towards Kurogasa's station.

"Alice, you…" Kurogasa got out, as he looked at her, the latter winking at him. "Wow, I can't believe she's helping me… yosh, ikuzo!" He grinned before holding onto his chef jacket. "Cast… Off!" He shouted before removing his entire jacket and flipping it over before reattaching it, now becoming cape-esque. "Clock Up!" He said tapping his right side waist before he started going speedy.

"Whoa it looks like there's two of him!" A customer said as Kurogasa current speed made it look like he was in two places.

"Order up!" Kurogasa said presenting more of his dish.

"Wow!" Alice said in English seeing Kurogasa's speed. "He's really gotten better since his days back when we were kids."

"Sugoi…" Megumi said in awe, seeing Kurogasa go really fast.

"Kururugi… you're really something…" Takumi muttered.

"Man, he's not playing around." Soma scoffed. "I better pick it up too."

 _'I don't believe it… there's no way.'_ Erina thought in disbelief. _'Can he really get 200 people to eat his food?'_

 _'C'mon… C'mon… hayaku… hayaku…!'_ Kurogasa gritted his teeth as he kept going, not stopping for even a moment's rest as more customers kept crowding towards him.

"Damn… I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm sick of booze." Shiki said after serving his last customer. "How much does Kurogasa need? We're done in the last minutes!"

From the video room, Gin eyed Kurogasa and Soma as the two were working fast to get their dishes served. Both were putting on show for the customers and were being innovative and creative in showing their skills as chefs. "Impressive. Soma has the flexibility to fix his mistake, while Kurogasa near Erina who took most of his customers from her amazing dish, made little progress until Alice tasted his food and now he is finally catching up to his work." The hotel owner said with a smile.

And now there was only about a minute. Soma and Kurogasa weren't wasting any time. They continued doing their work with fierce concentration. Both were sweating profusely and it dampened the top collar of their shirts.

 _'I can't Clock Up much longer… it's wearing my body down…'_ Kurogasa said screaming in pain in his mind from the overuse of his best technique. _'No… I'm not giving up! Shishou told me that the strong survive and the weak crumble! Only the strong shall survive! And I'm gonna survive through this!'_

30 seconds remained.

 _'Keep going… keep going!'_

20 seconds to go…

 _'I want to see her again…'_

10 seconds…

 _'I will have the future in my very hands!'_

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Kurogasa yelled before slamming the last plate down on the stack.

[ **"Soma Yukihira, 200 servings complete! Kurogasa Kururugi, 200 servings complete!"** ] Gin's voice shouted. [ **"STOP! Time is up!"** ]

"I don't believe it…" Erina gasped in disbelief.

"…Amazing." Alice said with awe in her eyes.

"S-Sugoi!" Megumi said as well in equal amazement.

"Heh, I knew he could do it!" Soma said, tired from his work.

Beatrix smiled sweetly as she nodded to herself and Shiki smiled too, while raising a glass of sparkling grape juice.

Kurogasa was standing there, hunched over as multiple drops of sweat fell on his counter. His heartbeat was beating rapidly, he was panting heavily, and he was overcome with exhaustion. He looked to his stack of dishes and saw that he has over 300 plates served. "I… did it…" He muttered before he suddenly felt weak and fell to his knees, his arms being able to keep him up on the counter, but he knew it was going to fail him next.

"!" His friends gasped, noticing what happened.

"Damn…" Kurogasa muttered before-

*THUD!*

"OI! KUROGASA!" Soma shouted, suddenly running over to his station, followed by Nero, Beatrix, Megumi, Takumi, and even Erina and Alice. They saw a keeled over Kurogasa with everyone looking on in worry. Soma then knelt down next to Kurogasa and held him. He was barely conscious with his eyes closed, had broken out into a cold sweat, and was panting heavily. "Oi, Kuro! Shikari shiro! Kuro!"

"…" The boy couldn't say anything as he was nearly fainting.

"C'mon, don't pass out on me now!" Soma snapped before looking to the crowd. "Someone call a doctor!"

"Shiki!" Beatrix said as the boy nodded.

"Right. I know the basics, so I'll help as best as I can." The Alcoholic user said as he laid the boy on his back. "Try breathing in long breaths, if you can't, tell me and I'll make a girl perform CPR." Kurogasa tried to breathe in a long breath, but was barely able to.

"I-Is he going to be okay?" Megumi asked worriedly.

"So far… he will, but we need something to keep the edge off… GET ICE NOW!" The boy ordered as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "Alright drink this, just a sip to dull the sense. Can you do that?" Shiki asked the boy. Kurogasa tried lifting his head up and took a sip of the whiskey.

*COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!*

"Okay, that's good." Shiki said as the boy felt oddly less tense. "WHERE'S THAT ICE?!"

"Here!" Megumi said, passing him a bucket.

"Okay… this might be a little bad." Shiki said wrapping all the ice in many towels and pressing them on the chest and limbs of Kurogasa.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kurogasa groaned.

"Hold him down!" Shiki ordered as he couldn't keep the ice on properly.

"Got it!" Soma and Takumi said grabbing the arms while Megumi and Beatrix held his legs. Shiki then managed to put all the ice on his limbs. Kurogasa kept writhing but his friends held down. After a few minutes, he stopped squirming.

"Okay, his body should cool down now." Shiki said taking off the ice. "He should be able to breathe fine now. Kuro… take a deep breathe."

Kurogasa did so and this time he was able to do it properly.

"Good… but we need a medic to check him out though." Shiki sighed.

Alice and Erina couldn't help but looked worried over the boy who fainted. The latter clutched her hand to her chest. _'Why… why is my heart hurting so much…?'_

* * *

Soon they got Kurogasa to his room and medic soon came after, checking up on him. The others have heard and they too went to check on Kurogasa. They were all standing outside Kurogasa's door.

"I hope he's okay…" Ryoko said sadly.

"I did what I could." Shiki said drinking from his flask.

"Give me that." Beatrix sighed, taking the drink and chugged it. "Dude… juice?"

"Not going to drink when a friend is in bad shape."

"Excuse me." The doctor said, as he came out of his room.

"How is he?!" Yuki panicked.

"Is he okay?" Marui asked.

"He's fine, just overextended his body. It was like he was running a marathon and doing an army drill at the same time, making him burn too much and knock himself out. He'll be allowed to leave in a few minutes." The doctor explained. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Yokatta…" Megumi placed a hand over her heart.

"Too close…" Shun added.

"Yeah, it would've been bad because if he's out for the rest of the day, he'll be expelled." Mito added.

"We should see him." Daigo suggested.

"Yeah, nothing that a few friends visiting can't fix." Shoji added.

"Of course." The doctor said before they all entered his room with Kurogasa on the bed.

"Hey guys." Kurogasa waved.

"Hey man, you gave us a scare." Soma said.

"Sorry…" Kurogasa laughed weakly. "Guess I got too fired up."

"Fired up? You nearly got yourself expelled if you went further than that."

"Wha-"

"This training camp is still not over." Mito crossed her arms. "If you were out for the rest of the day, then you wouldn't be able to complete the training camp and would've been expelled right then and there."

"Ahh…" Kurogasa moaned in fear. "Good thing I didn't do that breakfast casserole…"

"Are you nuts?!" Marui snapped. "That would take too long to prep and cook!"

"Okay! Sheesh, I said good thing!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

"We're just glad you're okay." Ryoko smiled a bit.

"Yeah, it would've been bad to see you go." Yuki added.

"Ditto." Beatrix said as she looked at Shiki. "Right?"

"Yeah yeah…"

"Thanks Shiki. You really helped me out there." Kurogasa smiled.

"I just did what I could. Takumi, Soma, Bea, and Megumi helped out too. I just wished I learned more from the battlefield…" Shiki mumbled the last part. "Well at least it worked on ya." The drinker said with smirk before taking out a flask and chugged it.

"Can you get up?" Megumi asked.

"Y-Yeah, hold on…" The boy said as he stood up on his feet but wobbled a bit and was caught by Soma. "Whoa… need a break soon. I just hope they'll be lenient because of my condition."

"I heard that they will get the doctor to show a note and they'll lighten the work. Enough to get real progress from you but not enough to send you back here." Beatrix said. Just then the door opened and Erina came in surprising them.

"Erina…" Kurogasa muttered as she went up to him and-

*SLAP!*

-slapped him.

"Idiot, I told you not to overwork yourself!" Erina snapped.

"Oww… okay, I totally deserved that…" Was the only thing that Kurogasa said as everyone around was also surprised at the action that Erina displayed. "Sorry…"

"Sorry's not going to cut it this time." Erina huffed before looking away with a slight blush. "You'll have to make it up by… making that breakfast sushi for me…"

Kurogasa shocked face slowly turned into a charming smile as he nodded, "Sure… anything for you."

"Heh, you should take lessons from him Shi." Beatrix nudged Shiki towards Megumi.

"Hmm…" The boy stopped drinking to look at the gentle girl before resuming slower and with a noticeable blush.

* * *

And so the training camp continued from there. It was only the fourth day and they had one more day to go on their 6 day 5 night stay at the hotel. And it didn't get any easier from then. Luckily, for Kurogasa, as noted before the doctor had given the necessary precautions to the Gin Dojima and they had given him some leniency on his workload. It was enough for Kurogasa to show progress, but not enough to have him be sent back to bed due to exhaustion. And thankfully, the staff were able to keep an eye on him to make sure things didn't go awry again.

Right now, it was the evening of the fifth day and everyone had gathered in the hotel lobby's in their uniform. Seeing them now, the crowd had been really thinned out.

"I'm finished…"

"I can barely move my legs…"

"I want to lie down…"

"I'm totally spent…"

"Wh-Why are we suddenly being summoned to the lobby?" Megumi asked.

"There's nothing listed on the schedule." Ryoko said, looking at the itinerary.

"I just hope it's not another task like that breakfast buffet…" Kurogasa sighed. "Even though it's been a day or two, I'm still feeling the aftereffects…"

"Then drink this." Shiki said, giving a bottle of liquor to Kurogasa.

"You're giving this to me, because?" I deadpanned.

"Relax, just take a sip to take off the edge and you'll be fine." Shiki waved off. Kurogasa deadpanned and frowned in suspicion, but then let the matter drop, seeing that he was too tired to even argue.

"Good, looks like you're all here." Gin's voice said, as they turned towards the voice and saw Gin standing there with a microphone. "Before I get into why you're here, I'd like to say a few things." He began. "At this point in time, 352 students have dropped out, and only 628 remain. This may seem cruel, but this training camp, is a microcosm of what it means to choose cooking as your career. You'll need to stay calm when facing the unknown, and commune with your own ingredients. If you become a chef, there will be pressure. You'll have to endure countless nights filled with anxiety and indecision, adapt to a wide range of situations, and overcome those challenges. This life is akin to wandering alone through a wind-torn barren wasteland. The more you climb, the more you will stumble, and the more your goal will become unclear. Before you know it, you may reach a standstill after reaching the pinnacle and lose sight of how to return. But I want you to remember one thing… you are with others who would tread the same wasteland. This fact will sustain you once you sally forth and go on alone. I wish all of you the best of luck from the bottom of my heart! Now then… let's begin the final program of this camp!"

Everyone groaned at this.

"Nooooooooo! No more~!" Beatrix whined.

"Not again!" Marui wailed.

"I knew it…!" Shoji got out.

"Tch…" Kurogasa gritted as everyone prepared for what was to come. When the doors opened though…

"WELCOME!"

All of the staff members and the steward were lined up at the door that led into the banquet hall.

"The final program consists of a modest banquet to celebrate the conclusion of the training camp!" Gin announced. "We will have all of you enjoy a full-course meal prepared by the alumni! Let me now say to all 628 of you who survived: Congratulations for passing the training camp! Enjoy to your heart's content! And to quote one of the top student's among you: Welcome to Paradise!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The students cheered happily.

"I can't believe it!"

"We did it!"

"This isn't "modest" in the least!"

"I'm so… glad to be alive…" Marui moaned before he turned white and fell to the ground.

"AHHHHHHHH! Marui finally kicked the bucket!" Yuki panicked.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhh… I don't blame him…" Beatrix groaned before doing the same thing.

"Oh boy, she finally cracked." Shiki sighed.

As the students went into the banquet hall to celebrate eating the lavish food the alumni prepared, Kurogasa approached Gin. "Who said you could use my bit Gin-senpai, huh?" Kurogasa asked with an amused smile while arching an eyebrow while crossing his arms.

"Your shishou." Gin grinned widely as he chuckled, "Sorry to tell you this, Tendou had to return home due to something with someone call Daisuke?"

"Oh him, the make-up artist. Figures." Kurogasa scoffed.

Nero raised an eyebrow, "Who's Daisuke?"

"Daisuke Kazama." Kurogasa said. "A make-up artist. Free spirited and eccentric, that guy is."

"Ohh… that guy. My old man has been trying to get an appointment with him."

"Why's that?"

"…" Nero turned green from the thought. "I don't want to think about… please don't make me…"

"Uh… sure." Kurogasa blinked.

* * *

The night has come and gone. There were only 628 students left in their generation and despite that, all of the Polar Star Students survived and thanks to their efforts, all of them were treated to the lavish banquet made by the alumni themselves. To be treated with such awesome food was the greatest reward the students chefs would have. They get to finally have a taste of heavenly food.

After the banquet, the students decided to finally rest properly after five days of the training camp.

"Whew… finally we can relax." Kurogasa sighed as he was in the hot spring, relaxing on the edge of the pool. "Man, I thought my sushi wouldn't cut it, but boy was I wrong."

The boy was right. He had a slow flow of selling them which harmed his chances as he made it to the first fifty while everyone was ahead of him. Alice came by, who after she used up all of her ingredients, and ate one of Kurogasa's sushi, verbally exclaiming how delicious it was. It caused a huge mass of people to come and eat it. In the last final minutes of that challenge, he had served over 300 and used every ingredient he had. However, because of the fast rush, he had overworked himself and almost keeled over, if not for Soma catching him, feeling very exhausted. Of course, his friends were worried and they called in a doctor just in case. The said doctor arrived and concluded that it was just exhaustion and would need rest, much to relief of the others.

"Man… this is what happens when I overwork myself." Kurogasa sighed to himself. "I guess… I'll take this after all." Kurogasa moved his arm to grab a bottle of alcohol that Nero gave him. "Just a sip to take the edge off…" The boy does so… before his eyes turn comically white and large as he spat it out. "PPPPFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTT~! Gah! What the-" The boy looked at the bottle label and sweat dropped.

 _Nero's Secret Heavenly Spirit! Enough to send you to heaven!_

"This tastes like Devil's Springs! Nothing heavenly about _this_ , you underaged drunk bastard!" Kurogasa yelled before putting the bottle away to the side and sighed heavily. He then looked to his black 'V' necklace as he cupped it in his hands. "Man, five days on this training camp and still no sign of her…" He sighed to himself. Kurogasa then placed his back on the stones behind him, "I wonder if I can really find her… what would I even _say_ to her? Sorry I was too scared to come back? Sometimes I wished I was like Shishou and just Rider Kick most of my problems away…" Kurogasa sighed in slight depression. That was when he decided to get out of the water, seeing that he had enough for today. "I'm done… I'm out of here." He said before placing his necklace and towel on him. The boy slowly stood up not wanting to overwork his already weakened body. He walked to the door as he saw someone open it…

"Haa… I wish I can find him soon."

Kurogasa blushed red when he saw… an almost naked Erina standing in front of him with a towel covering what little it can cover, the perfect body of the girl.

"Gah!" Kurogasa freaked out. "E-Erina?!"

"Kyaah! Kurogasa, what are you doing here?!" Erina stammered, blushing red.

"I-I was just about to get out! I swear I thought it was still the men's time!" Kurogasa used his towel to circle around his waist as his black 'V' necklace was now exposed to the world.

"!" Erina gasped surprised.

"Huh? W-What is it?"

"That necklace… w-where did you get that?" Erina asked.

"Huh? This?" Kurogasa got out as he cupped it in his hand. "I've been having it for a while… why-" His eyes widened and his words were cut short when he saw… a green 'V' necklace on Erina?! _'No way… that necklace!'_

The girl dropped her towel as her eyes had tears flowing down as she mumbled, "K-Ku-kun…?" The girl whispered almost too quietly.

"Huh?!" Kurogasa gawked with surprise. "W-What did you say…?"

The girl went up to him with her hands on his bare chest, "Please tell me! Tell me that you're Ku-kun, the boy who I… who I loved and missed so much! If you're him, tell me my nickname! The nickname Ku-kun only knows!"

"!" Kurogasa's eyes widened even further in surprise. And for some reason… tears went down his face.

…

…

…

…

"…Na-chan?"

*POW! SPLASH!*

Erina suddenly tackled Kurogasa into the hot spring causing a huge splash in the water. After the wave calmed down, the two of them gasped for air as Kurogasa managed to place his back on the stones behind him as Erina straddled onto his waist while holding his shoulders while tears of joy streamed down her eyes. "Yappari… it really _is_ you… you came back… you came back…!" The girl cried, before hugging him despite her naked skin touching his.

"Na-chan…" Kurogasa got out as he too cried before hugging her tight. "Yokatta… I finally found you after all these years… Yokatta… Yokatta…"

"Where were you… where were you all this time?" Erina sobbed.

"I wanted to see you so bad…" Kurogasa muttered before they broke the hug. "I never meant for you to be all alone for so long… I'm so sorry…"

"I don't care anymore… I'm just glad to see you again…"

"Na-chan…" Kurogasa smiled as more tears fell streamed down his eyes before his hand held her cheek, wiping her tears. "Me too. I'm so happy to see you too… now I can make that cake you liked so long ago."

"Unn!" Erina nodded as she cried tears of happiness while smiling an actual genuine smile for the first time in years. "Ku… Kuro…" Erina got out as she realized something important. "EEP!"

…She was naked.

Kurogasa noticed too and cried out, "Gah! Sorry!" before looking away embarrassed.

"No… it's okay…"

"Huh?" Kurogasa got out, looking at her, seeing the full bare view of her front while her necklace dangled…

"Ku-kun… I love you… so I'm okay with this." The girl said inching towards him her eyes full of want and love.

"Na-chan, I- mmmmmmmmmmmph!" Kurogasa's eyes widened when Erina kissed him. He gently got up, being able to sit on the edge of the pool as they kept kissing before he gently pushed her away. "Erina… you… really want to be with me."

The girl nodded before laying her head on his chest, "More than anything… I don't want to lose one of the only few people I love… especially the one who stole my heart." Erina then looked up at him with her hazy eyes leaning up slowly.

"Na-chan…" Kurogasa muttered.

"Ku-kun…" The girl said and took his lips once more with hers. "Mmmmh~!"

"Mmmmmmmph…!" Kurogasa got out as he tried to keep up with her, which he eventually did, and soon it became a very hot make-out session.

"Kuro~" Erina moaned out as she curled her toes when the boy gently licked her lips to make her open her mouth, to which she did, and his tongue went inside of her mouth to explore, making her eyes more hazy in pure pleasure.

"Erina…" Kurogasa said as he held her close while continuing to kiss her, enjoying her sweet moans and gasps between their sweet make-out session before he pulled away. "Erina…" he whispered as he tucked a lock of her hair behind her head. "I love you…"

"I love you too, Ku-kun…" Erina murmured. "Don't leave me… ever again…"

"Not in a million years…" Kurogasa whispered before they went back to making out.

Unbeknownst to them, Senzaemon was around the corner, hearing everything. "Normally if any other boy did this… no one would ever hear from him again. Kurogasa… take care of her… she needs you now." The man smiled as he left, leaving a 'Cleaning Sign' on the door so the kids won't be disturbed.

* * *

 **Fen:** Awwwwwwwwwww! Isn't that cute?

 **AQ:** Yes… yes it was…

 **Fen:** Kuro and Erina finally recognize each other!

 **AQ:** And now time to roll the credits!

 **Fen:** Wait wha? That's it? o_O

 **AQ:** No of course not, idiot!

 **Fen:** Okay… ·_·; Well uh, anyways, hope you guys enjoyed! Hopefully this double feature made up for lost time.

 **AQ:** Yup, next time it's the Autumn arc thingy…

 **Fen:** So see ya on the next Main Course!


	10. Dish 10

Hello everyone this is Fen here ready to bring to you the next chapter of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe. Unfortunately, Azure Queen won't be here with me today due to a real life situation I will not disclose to anyone. However, she _did_ manage to help me get this chapter done. So without further ado, please enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Kurogasa and Erina had finally reunited after ten years. Who would've thought that the two would actually find themselves at Tōtsuki Academy? They already met each other, they just didn't realize it soon enough. But time managed to eventually get them together. As of now, the couple after having the bath to themselves went back towards Erina's hotel room dressed, but they kept on kissing as they did.

"Ku-kun, no more~" Erina giggled into the kiss.

"Sorry, but I love you too much, Na-chan." Kurogasa chuckled, kissing her again.

The two continued to kiss as they were at the door showering each other with love and fleeting chaste kisses. To anyone, it was the most sweetest thing any being could see, watching two lovers finally reuniting after such a long time.

"Mmh…" Kurogasa sighed into the kiss before having a good idea and broke the lip contact. Erina was about to ask what's wrong when she blushed red and held back a moan when Kurogasa latched onto her neck to suckle her unblemished skin.

"K-Ku-kun…" Erina whispered. "Not here… we'll get in trouble."

"So?"

"Ku-kun, seriously…"

"Alright, alright." He sighed, before pulling away showing a small smile. "I'll let you go for the night." Kurogasa said, moving up and away from Erina only to feel her hands move behind his neck with a cute, but frightened look. "Na-chan?"

"Can you stay with me tonight…? I know this isn't a dream, but… I feel scared that you might vanish again if I let you go…" Erina begged softly with eyes showing how desperate she wants her request to come true. "Please?"

"Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes." Kurogasa smiled, before Erina smiled back and went inside the room and closed the door. Once the door was closed properly, he had his back against the wall sobbing a bit, before he took out his phone and dialed a number. A few moments later, the person on the other end picked up.

[ _"Kurogasa?"_ ]

"Shishou… I found her…" Kurogasa sobbed. "I found Na-chan…"

[ _"Eh? You mean, your friend Na?"_ ]

"Hai, it was Erina… it was Erina all along."

[ _"Erina…"_ ] Tendou muttered, his voice filled with slight wonder, [ _"I swore I heard that name before."_ ]

"Erina Nakiri…"

[ _"Ah yes, the God's Mouth or something like that, Erina Naki-"_ ] The man's voice for once stop in mid-sentence almost stunned if Kurogasa could make a deduction.

"S-Shishou?"

[ _"Heh. Naruhodo… I'm glad you found her."_ ] Tendou chuckled. [ _"Don't lose sight of her."_ ]

"Hai!" Kurogasa said, before hanging up the phone. And then…

"YATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

Tendou hung up on his end of the line and dialed another number on his cell phone. After a few moments, the person on the other end picked up.

[ _"Yes?"_ ]

"It worked, Senzaemon-sensei." Tendou smiled. "My student and your granddaughter are together now,"

[ _"Yes, I know. I heard as much tonight."_ ] Senzaemon said. [ _"I'm surprised you were able to get those two together under_ his _radar."_ ]

"It wasn't that hard to do." Tendou shrugged.

* * *

 **Flashback - 10 years ago**

 _Tendou sighed as he felt tired, more so then when he fought monsters as a Rider… but at very least, he can now focus on his cooking. Although nearly dying in that war with the Showa Riders wasn't fun nor that game world with that rookie Rider, "Yare yare… I need to visit old man Senzaemon." And so, he went on his way to visit the said old man, to his mansion, walking towards it with his bowl on tofu soaked in water in two. Although, upon arriving, he noticed something rather strange. He hid behind a corner to see what was going on, and he saw a young boy being literally kicked out of the said mansion by a man he was familiar with back in his school days._

 _"LET ME IN! I want to see her!" The boy begged. "Why can't I see her?!"_

 _A man wearing a dark black suit was in front of him. Even though he had a friendly smile… the boy can see nothing but a terrifying monster._

 _He had slick black hair with a streak of white hair swept into the back. He was pale-skinned with black eyes and had a notably grim looking face despite him smiling and his outfit is predominantly black, consisting of a trench coat, vest, undershirt, leather gloves, slacks, and shoes. His tie is silver in color._

 _"What is he-" Tendou wondered._

 _"My daughter has no need for the likes of you, anymore. Please never come back here again." The man patted the young boy's head._

 _"LIAR! She liked my cake! Why are you kicking me out because she tasted a cake that I made and she liked?!" the boy snapped, tears streaming down his eyes._

 _"…Because she's my way of creating the perfect world of culinary progress. You will_ never _understand the ability she has. I don't want her to be soiled by your horrible food."_

 _ ***POW!***_

 _"GAH!" the boy cried out as the girl's father kicked him away in the gut making him roll to the ground before he stopped._

 _"Now run along, boy. The next time you come here, I will use permanent measures. The reason you're alive now is because I am slightly pleased to see my daughter happy." The man chuckled darkly before he closed the door. The boy then managed to get up and ran to get to the door but it was all for naught as it was locked._

 _"NA-CHAN! NA-CHAN!" the boy cried as he banged on the door while the clouds darkened the sky and rain fell. "Let me in! I want to see Na-chan! Let me see her!" He yelled, but it was no use._

 _"NA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"_

 _"…that kid…" Tendou whispered, he reminded him of his old rival… though not as skilled as he was to that fallen hero… Tendou could tell that child's spirit is strong. It was much stronger than that man that kicked him out. It was cruel to hear that he was being kicked out because the boy made something so good for the girl._

 _At that point, the boy gave up and walked away from the mansion. Seeing this, Tendou had to play the part of ignorance and went back to the sidewalk. The boy was crying as he was walking home alone while in the rain, saddened that he can't see his childhood friend ever again. That is until he accidentally bumped into someone._

 _"You should watch where you're going, shounen." Tendou said in a stoic tone while holding his metal bowl which had a block of tofu soaked in water while holding his umbrella._

 _"G-Gomen…" The boy sobbed, wiping his tears._

 _"Why are you crying, shounen?"_

 _"N-Na-chan… I can't see her forever…" He got out. "Her dad kicked me out… all because of a cake I made that she liked…"_

 _Tendou looked at the boy for a while before he said, "…Come with me." as he looked at the boy with pity in his eyes._

 _"H-Huh?" The boy asked as he looked at Tendou. "Where?"_

 _"I'm going to teach you how to walk the path of Heaven."_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"And as soon as I took him in, I called you and explained the situation. Hence, why you kicked _him_ out of your family." Tendou said. "Now we just need to keep it that way. I heard from one of my detective friends that _he's_ on the move."

[ _"Odd, I haven't heard anything of the sort."]_ The older male suggested. [ _"Are you sure?"_ ]

"I've been keeping tabs on him ever since I took Kurogasa in." Tendou said.

[ _"I see, I trust your judgement so please continue to move at your pace, Tendou."_ ]

"Hai." Tendou nodded before hanging up.

* * *

 **(Cue Escape by Hemenway)**

 **(Instrumental)** The scene starts with the city of Tokyo as the camera moved fast forward through the streets until the screen suddenly slowed down to the pinnacle top of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, the top of the pagoda shining brightly before the screen whited out to show the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, namida wo no-se)** Kurogasa looked to the horizon with a smile as he sees Tōtsuki Culinary Academy dead ahead. Soma walked up next to him, along with Shiki and Beatrix.  
 **(Kareru made supīdo agete)** He grinned seeing his friends before they nodded to each other and dashed towards the Academy.  
 **(Tobikoete yukeru kitto kotae wa)** As they ran, they were met by classmates of the 92nd Generation as they ran along with them.  
 **(Haruka na ano sora no mukou)** The camera then switched angles, now showing them running towards the camera before they all took jumped up and the camera shot up towards the sky and the title card appeared. After a few seconds, it disappeared to move to the next scene.

 **(Kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa)** In the first scene, there was a side angle view of Soma and Kurogasa with their signatures dishes in the background, then it changed to Erina and Hisako with their dishes in the background as well.  
 **(Tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru)** Then there were the cameo shots of Megumi, Shiki, Beatrix, Ryoko, Yuki, Shun, Marui, Aoki, Sato and Isshiki as the camera panned from left to right in that order showing their dishes in the background.  
 **(Aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de kagayaiteru no wa)** The next scene had the camera slowly go up as they showed a few Alumni before it stopped at Senzaemon as a silhouette as his eyes glowed, looking intimidating as ever.  
 **(Doko de mo yukeru, yume wo miteru jibun na no sa)** However, the screen went forward past Senzaemon as a silhouetted person appeared with the sun in the background. He turned around and raised his finger in the air while a faint image of a certain red-beetle themed warrior appeared before the screen faded white to the next scene.

 **(Escape kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete)** In a huge room full of many kitchen stations, all of the 92nd Generation were cooking as they were competing for their lives, in hopes of not getting expelled on the spot.  
 **(Nobashita te wa asu wo egaku)** All of the Polar Star students looked at each other and smiled, determined that they were not going to give and lose to the others and continued to cook.  
 **(Mou kowaku nado nai namida no ato)** Kurogasa and Soma looked towards the front as they saw Takumi, Isami, Mito, Hisako, Alice, Ryo, and Akira as they had their cooking equipment at the ready with a few alumni in the background as huge figures.  
 **(Nijiiro ni somatte tonde yuku)** The two boys grinned defiantly as they charged in towards them accepting the challenge.

 **(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhhhhh~ ahh, ahh, ahh)** When the other two boys clashed with them, a bright light engulfed the screen.

 **(Ano sora no mukou)** Kurogasa and Soma look up towards the camera as the latter panned backwards to reveal the 92nd Generation all with smiles and stoic looks on their faces as the song ends.

* * *

 **Dish 10:** Classic Vanilla Cake

The next day had come by and in Erina's room, Kurogasa and Erina were sleeping together, with clothes on mind you. Kurogasa was already awake and he was watching his now girlfriend sleep as he laid next to her. "Na-chan…" He murmured. _'You've been through so much… you had to endure a lot of things before we got back together.'_ Kurogasa thought before a small smile appeared on his face.

"Mmmmm…" Erina moaned before slowly opening her eyes and the first thing he saw was Kurogasa. She smiled softly as she muttered, "Ku-kun…"

"And a good morning to you too." Kurogasa greeted.

"This isn't a dream is it…?" Erina asked. "I don't want this to be a dream."

"No, you're not dreaming." Kurogasa shook his head. "It's very real."

"Thank goodness…" She then wrapped her arms around his form gently. "I missed you…"

"I missed you too…" He replied.

"I wanted to see you so bad…" She added as she looked at him tenderly. "Ever since we were seperated… I…"

"Shhhhhhhhhh…" Kurogasa whispered, gently placing a finger on her lips. "It's okay… all of that is over. What matters, is that we're back together now."

"Ku-kun…"

His eyes smiled down at her as Erina looked up at his. They were filled with so much love and concern that she felt as though her heart would happily burst. Erina allowed Kurogasa to pull her closer, their bodies molding together around the cover draped over them. She nuzzled her face against his chest and with a smile, she knew. This, to be by his side, is what she wanted.

"I won't leave you ever again, Na-chan…"

His words were soft and barely audible, but Erina heard them and any words she wanted to say died on her tongue. Her chest got tight and all she could do was let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. All she could do was tighten her hold on him.

"Erina-sama, are you awake?" Hisako's voice called out.

"Crap!" Kurogasa whispered as Erina sat up with a alarmed look.

"J-Just a minute!" Erina called out.

"What do we do, Na-chan? There's no place to hide." Kurogasa hissed.

"Jump out of the window like in my manga!" Erina said opening the window to outside.

"But we're 20 stories high!" Kurogasa panicked, only to pale when he shouted.

"Erina-sama, is someone in there?" Hisako asked before the door opened. "I'm here to-" And whatever, she was about to say next fell on deaf ears as she saw Kurogasa in her lady's room, gawking.

"Uh… hey, Hisako." Kurogasa said sheepishly.

"…" Hisaki slowly walked back while also closing the door… and opened it again with her eyes closed. "Erina-sama, I think I'm stressed out or something. I thought I saw Kurogasa…"

"You're not seeing things." Erina sighed.

The moment she said that, Hisako unleashed her fury. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ERINA-SAMA, YOU SCUM!?" The young girl jumped and pounced at Kurogasa to beat him to a pulp!

"OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! NA-CHAN, HELP ME!"

"Hisako, get off of him!" Erina scolded as she pried her friend off of the boy.

"Erina-sama, this filthy man tainted you!" Hisako shrieked. "I _will_ not let this stand!"

"Hisako, it's fine! This is Ku-kun!"

…

…

…

…

"W-What?" Hisako stuttered, shocked.

"Remember when I told you the other day that I've been trying to find my childhood friend Ku-kun for the past ten years?" Erina asked, to which Hisako nodded. "Well… Kurogasa is Ku-kun."

"No way…" Hisako said amazed before glaring at Kurogasa. "You're not tricking her, are you?"

"Why would I?" Kurogasa groaned in pain as he sat up while Erina knelt next to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I've been taught to respect women…"

Hisako sighed at that. "Then I will… back off. As long as you don't hurt her… I suppose you and Erina-sama can be together."

"Um… thank you?" Kurogasa said unsure.

"But if you dare make her cry, I'll brutally rip and crush 'it'." Hisako said clenching her hand into a fist making Kurogasa turn pale from the gesture as he shuddered.

"Hisako, please stop…" Erina sighed.

"Don't worry, I will." Hisako said, before glaring at Kurogasa again. "I'm keeping my eye on you." She warned before finally leaving.

"Oh Hisako…" Erina sighed. "I'm sorry about her, Ku-kun." She apologized.

"It's fine. She's your friend after all." Kurogasa sweat dropped with a sheepish smile. "Now there's one just more thing I have to worry about."

"What's that?"

"Alice. She's gonna get mad at me when I finally remember her."

"Right…" Erina said.

"Anyways we better pack our stuff." Kurogasa suggested.

* * *

[ _ **"Attention. Students should gather their belongings and board their designated buses. Please return your room keys to the front desk. Please check your surroundings to avoid leaving anything behind."**_ ] A voice in the PA announced.

"Man… we're finally done." Yuki yawned loudly as she and the Polar Star dorm students all had their stuff in tow and were in the main hallway.

"Everyone made it." Shun said.

"It all happened in a flash." Megumi smiled a bit, albeit tiredly.

"But it was really tough." Ryoko pointed out.

"You all didn't have to come into my room on the last night, though…" Marui sighed.

"You didn't seem to mind joining in before." Shoji grinned, making him flinch.

"Speaking of everybody, where's Kurogasa?" Daigo asked, as everyone looked around.

"Now that you mention it…" Soma got out.

"He wasn't in our room, last night." Shiki said as Beatrix shrugged.

"Hey guys!" A voice called out and the Polar Star crew turned to see Kurogasa approach them with Erina behind him. "Sorry I took so long, I was uh… catching up with an old friend."

"…Sniff, he finally knows the pleasures of being a man." Beatrix shed a tear of joy.

"Wait, she's an old friend of yours?" Shiki pointed at Erina. "But you see each other all the time. Not to mention she's so stuck-up."

*WHAM!*

"OW!" Shiki cried out, after Erina threw a book at his head. "Okay, never mind, she's just as cruel as you." The young man sighed in irritation making everyone look at him oddly. "What?"

"Idiot, she's a long childhood friend I've known for ten years." Kurogasa sighed.

"Yeah I guessed that, that's why I said she's as cruel as you." Shiki sighed once more while rolling his eyes. "By the way, glad that happened to you."

"Thanks."

"Kurogasa~!" Alice's voice called out as Kurogasa and Erina turned to see the said person before glomping the former with a hug.

"E-Eh?" Kurogasa got out.

"I was trying to find you. Where _were_ you?" THe white haired girl asked while leaning in dangerously close to Kurogasa's face.

"Uh… I was uh… how should I say this?" Kurogasa said, sheepishly.

"Alice, get off of him!" Erina snapped, prying her cousin off of the young boy.

"Ehh?! Why!?" Alice whined, giving her comical pouting look to Erina, "It's like you're dating Kuro-kun! You don't know much about him!"

"Of _course_ she does… Ali-chan." Kurogasa said.

…

…

…

…

"What… did you just say?" Alice blinked.

"You heard me… Ali-chan." Kurogasa smiled.

…

…

…

…

"Mou~, took you long enough!" Alice whined as she leaned forward with her arms down, while having the same comical look on her face. "And your _real_ girlfriend was almost heartbroken when you didn't remember her."

"Thanks for that, Alice." Erina gave a snide look to her cousin who pouted even bigger, puffing her cheeks.

"I MEANT ME~!"

"Oi, oi, oi, ochitsuite." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Mou! Mou! Moumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumoumou!" Alice whined, pounding her fists onto his chest comically.

"At least there are some things that never change." Kurogasa chuckled.

"Yes, now let's leave that mean girl alone and go on a date." Alice said, grabbing Kurogasa's arm, leading him away from Erina.

"O-Oi! Chotto matte, Ali-chan!"

"Let him go, Alice!" Erina called out, running after the two and everyone else looking on.

"Okay, what the heck just happened?" Soma asked.

"Aw, that's another girl off my list." Beatrix sighed marking out Alice's name from a pocket book. Megumi looked to see Shinomiya leaving.

"S-Shinomiya-senpai!" Megumi called out, making him turn around to see her with a smirk.

"Well, look at you, you managed to survive." Shinomiya said.

"H-Hai." Megumi said, as she looked at his suitcase. "Are you heading back to France?"

"Yeah. I can't keep my restaurant closed for too long." Shinomiya nodded. "Besides, I've decided what I've wanted to do. The Pluspol Award isn't gonna cut it anymore. I'm going to make SHINO's the number one restaurant in Paris, with a three-star rating from Michelin."

"Good to know, that my words made a positive change in you." Kurogasa smiled kindly at the older man.

"Eh? Kurogasa-kun?" Megumi gasped in surprised. "When did you-"

"Erina's taking care of her cousin." Kurogasa smiled cheekily.

"By beating the tar out of each other?" Shiki pointed to a comical dust fight not too far away.

"Something like that," Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Say, Megumi-chan, do you wanna work in my restaurant?" Hinako suddenly intervened, annoying Shinomiya.

"HINAKO-CHA~N!" Beatrix shouted running to the older woman with a carefree smile. Hinako quickly held the girl into her arms.

"Hinako-chan?" Everyone asked.

"Somehow, someway, she managed to-" Kurogasa began, but was cut off when Beatrix bopped his head. "ITE!"

"Not. One. Word…" She threatened.

"Soma Yukihira, are you by chance interested in Italian cuisine?" Fuyumi asked.

"Eh?" Soma blinked.

"Tadokoro-kun, your talent would be a great help to my sushi-" Fuyumi asked.

"DA-ME! I'm taking Megumi-chan!" Hinako denied.

"Heh, so they're already talking to you." Gin chuckled as he approached.

"Ch-Ch-Chef Dojima, what's going on?" Megumi stuttered.

"They're sizing you up." Gin said. "This camp also served as a ground for potential recruitment to offer positions students can consider after graduating. The alumni close their restaurants, or even let sous chefs take charge, so that they can come here. Partly because they can recruit future staff. After all, it's not easy to find promising chefs." He then turned to Soma. "Yukihira-kun, I've seen what you can do in this camp. You would make a fine edition in the resort."

"I appreciate the offer, but I have Yukihira Diner." Soma politely declined.

"Right, your family runs a restaurant." Gin nodded.

"Yeah, my father and I were keeping the place running. I don't know where he is or what he's doing, but I want him to recognize my skills one day, and deem me worthy to shoulder Yukihira." Soma said.

"I see." Gin nodded, then turned to Kurogasa. "And what about you?"

"I'm afraid I have to decline as well." Kurogasa smiled a bit. "There's still a lot I need to learn. I'm going to keep walking my Path of Heaven. Shishou ga iteita: 'Life is a long path to a goal. Drop your heavy luggage and enjoy walking with your hands empty.'"

"Hmph, as expected of Tendou, a good quote and a better student with a sense of humility."

And so, the students began leaving the lobby with the Polar Star students being the last to go as the alumni looked on. However, as Gin looked at Soma, his mind saw something else. In front of him, he saw Soma walking away with his suitcase over his back, however, in that moment, there was an afterimage of a friend that he knew from so long ago, and they were so similar in every way. "!" Gin gasped.

"Gin-senpai, is something wrong?" Donado asked.

"No… it's nothing." Gin assured.

* * *

"Na-chan!" Kurogasa called out as she approached Erina at the bus loop. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Oh, don't worry, my ride is almost here." The blonde girl admitted with a kind smile. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure, I don't mind." Kurogasa smiled back, but then Erina gasped for some reason, confusing him.

"Oh no, I forgot something! I'll be right back!" Erina said, before running off.

"Hey wait, let me come with!" Kurogasa called out, but she was already gone. So by now, Kurogasa waited in the bus loop and several minutes later, the buses started leaving and by the time they left, for some strange reason, Soma showed up. "Soma? What are you doing here? You just missed the buses!"

"What? That's not good." Soma said for once taking the situation seriously, "I left my gross food in my seat!"

…

Perhaps not…

"Oh great…" Kurogasa facepalmed.

"Hey! Don't go blaming it on me. I just forgot my headband, that's all." Soma protested.

"I'm back!" Erina called out as she approached. "Sorry for- haaaaaah?! What's _he_ doing here, Kurogasa?!" She suddenly snapped.

"He missed the bus…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"Erina-ojousama!" A secretary called out as she approached her. "Your car is ready. Huh? Did these two boys miss the bus?"

"Only one, the red-haired boy is just a troublemaker, don't mind him." Erina grumbled.

And so the three of them, went to the car and they drove on the road towards the Academy. Soma sat in front of Kurogasa and Erina with the latter looking outright irritated.

"So… you two are going out now, huh?" Soma asked.

"Yeah." Kurogasa said sheepishly. "Something like that."

"Why did I let you convince me to bring the dimwit?" Erina mumbled hating the fact she is close to the smug teen.

"Oh c'mon, don't be like that, Na-chan. Sure, he may troll people a lot, but he's a good friend if you get to really know him." Kurogasa chided gently.

"I highly doubt that." Erina deadpanned before looking to Soma. "Anyways, Yukihira. You'd do well to flounder at the very bottom of the barrel. I doubt you'd be selected for the elections."

"Elections?" Soma asked confused.

"I heard about this. The Autumn Elections." Kurogasa said. "It's held every year for first-year students to show off their skills to prestigious people of the food industry. Right?" He asked his girlfriend.

"Right on the money, Kurogasa." Erina said using her more professional tone. "The Academy's directors and investors, heavyweights of the food industry will be present, making it the first opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills to those outside of the Academy. And the selection process has already begun,"

"Now that you mention it… during that breakfast challenge, I noticed some suits overlooking my performance and cooking. Are those the ones that do the selection?" Kurogasa asked.

"Yes. The training isn't only just for weeding out the weak. It also has a hidden agenda to identify those who will ascend above the rest." Erina said.

"A gourmet festival huh. Sounds fun! It gets you revved up just thinking about it!" Soma grinned with interest.

"Like I said, there's no way they'd select someone like you!" Erina snapped comically.

"Oi, Na-chan, calm down." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Ugh, do I really have to play nice with him?"

"Until we get back to school." Kurogasa said. "Please?"

"Fine…" The girl pouted.

 _'Well, this is what I call an awkward situation. Guess I'll sleep.'_ Soma thought before he decided to fall asleep.

"There. Now we won't have to worry about him for the time being." Kurogasa smiled sheepishly. "By the way, what did you go back to the hotel for, Na-chan?"

"This." Erina replied as she pulled out a small book and slid out a picture of the two of them as kids.

"You managed to keep that?" Kurogasa asked, surprised.

"…" Erina gave a small smile. "It was the only thing I had to remind me of you. And the only thing that kept me sane until we got back together." She added before she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Erina…" Kurogasa whispered softly as he held her in his arm. "I won't leave you again Na-chan… this time for sure."

"Thank you, Ku-kun…" Erina sighed slowly, and with that, Kurogasa had drifted off into sleep. When he did, Erina secretly pulled out another picture from the book and it was her standing next to a chef. One that was very familiar to a certain red-haired chef.

* * *

At the resort, Gin was in his office. His desk was cluttered with documents and other papers, but what he was looking at, was an old yearbook. He had opened it up to a certain page and looking at it, Gin smiled. It was a picture of him in his school days, and next to him was a young man that was practically the spitting image of Soma. What he saw in him, everything now made sense.

"I see…" Gin smiled fondly. "Soma Yukihira is your son… Joichiro…"

* * *

At the Polar Star dorm, Fumio was vacuuming the lobby, making it squeaky clean and tidy when the students of the dorm returned from the training camp. After a few minutes, she stopped her work and wiped her forehead. "Training camp is just about over. They should be back soon."

*DING DONG!*

"Hm?" Fumio raised an eyebrow before going over to the door and opened it. "That was rather quick-" She soon was cut off when she saw two familiar men and looked surprised before she smiled. "Yare, yare mattaku… if only I'd known you two would show up. You should've at least called. You two haven't changed one bit."

"Sorry, for not coming earlier to say my greetings Fumio-san. It's been a while."

"And I was just passing through the area."

* * *

By sunset, all of the Polar Star students including Soma and Kurogasa had returned. "We're back!" Soma called out. They had put all their luggage down at the lobby and followed Isshiki, in his naked apron outfit, to the dining area.

"I'm so glad you all made it back." Isshiki smiled before they stopped to see Fumio in front of them.

"You guys must be tired. I'll give you all a good meal!" Fumio grinned, making the students cheer.

"Yatta!" Shoji cheered.

"We haven't had Fumio's cooking in forever!" Daigo grinned.

"Actually, I'm not the one cooking." Fumio said, confusing the students. When the students came over to the kitchen, they saw two men already cooking. Kurogasa and Soma instantly recognized the two but not the others. The first man was obviously Tendou and the second person was a man in his late 30's with long, dark hair which is swept back, save for a single group of bangs that hangs over his face down to his chin. Even when cooking, all of his hair is tied back except for that one strand. His eyes are sharper and he has a slight beard on his chin. His body is well toned and wore form fitting shirt and pants. This was Joichiro Yukihira.

"Shishou? Mr. Joe?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, Kurogasa." Tendou said as he expertly cut some ingredients. "Sorry to drop in, but I met up with Saiba-senpai on my way back."

"Oh heya. It's been a while." Joichiro waved to Kurogasa. "How's your folks doing?"

"They're… doing fine." Kurogasa blinked.

"Who are these two guys?" Shiki asked.

"Beats me." Beatrix shrugged.

"Hey, Soma. You're back. Come help and prep these. The stock is almost done." Joichiro said.

"Sure. Okay." Soma nodded, but then caught himself. "Wait, I just responded to you out of habit, what are you doing here?!" He snapped comically.

"What, you know each other?" Fumio raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Shishou took me to his diner every week to have cooking contests and taste some food." Kurogasa admitted with a shrug.

"Wh-Who are you?" Megumi asked Joichiro.

"He's a alumnus of Tōtsuki Academy and of the Polar Star Dorm." Fumio said

"Alumnus?!" Soma gawked.

"Hehhhhhhhh… you're making me feel my years. You don't know the former second seat of the Elite Ten, Joichiro Saiba?" Fumio asked.

"Former second seat of the Elite Ten?!" Everyone but Soma asked shocked. Even Kurogasa was shocked. Sure, he visited him with his Shishou, but he hadn't heard about _this_.

"Saiba?" Soma blinked.

"Oh, the rice is almost done, Soma." Joichiro said.

"Urusei! Just explain what's going on, Dad!" Soma snapped comically with sharp teeth and angry soulless eyes.

"You're family?!" the Polar Star students asked. Even _Fumio_ was shocked.

"Hmmmmmm, naruhodo." Isshiki said rather calmly with a smile.

"And guys, this is my Shishou. Former first seat of the Elite Ten: Tendou Souji."

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

* * *

By the time night had fallen, everything was explained to Soma. He was sitting at the table, looking rather flustered with eyes wide and soulless while having a strange smile. "So dad's an alumnus of Tōtsuki… of the Polar Star Dormitory, and of the Elite Ten… heh… this is even hard for _me_ to take it all in…"

"Wow… never seen him _this_ flustered…" Beatrix deadpanned.

"Ditto, didn't know Tendou would be coming. What happened to dad?" Shiki asked.

"He went back to France, stating that a few certain dancers needed him for some reason. Nothing major."

Shiki nodded to that, "He always seem to put those guys ahead of everything."

"So you're Joichiro Saiba and Tendou Souji." Isshiki said.

"Oh, you've heard of us?" Joichiro asked.

"Yes. I came across both of your names in past documents. You were described as a nomadic chef who worked his magic in famous restaurants across the world. But after a time, you disappeared on the front lines. You became a legend only known to a select few." He then turned to Tendou. "And Tendou-senpai, you were a legendary chef who has defeated every single classmate in your generation ever since you attended the Middle School Division. You were described as someone who created dishes that only the angels in Heaven were allowed to eat and that we humans are not worthy to taste."

"It was only because I walked the Path of Heaven, it's only natural that my food would be treated as such." The older man said.

"I'm Satoshi Isshiki, seventh seat of the Elite Ten. It's an honor to finally meet you, Chef Saiba, and Chef Tendou." Isshiki bowed.

"I go by Yukihira now. And you can call me Joichiro."

"Those two aren't even fazed by Isshiki-senpai's outfit." Yuki said a bit surprised.

"I'm used to it due to another Ride- friend." Tendou deadpanned remembering a certain man with an arrogant presence doing odd things.

"I had no idea Dad was famous…" Soma muttered.

"You really didn't know?!" Yuki gawked.

"Well, I mean I only found out he'd work overseas recently." Soma got out. "He used to get calls in languages I don't understand. And I'd see pictures of him with foreigners. I didn't think it was out of the ordinary in any home."

"It _is_! You should've noticed!"

"I see he takes after you, Saiba-senpai." Tendou said to his fellow chef.

"Yep."

"It wasn't a compliment." Tendou sighed.

Several minutes later, Tendou and Joichiro had finished making dinner and it was a feast. An Arabian feast to be exact. "Alright, let's have a toast!" Joichiro said.

"This is to celebrate all of you surviving the camp. No holding back tonight!" Fumio said, before everyone raised their glasses.

"ITADAKIMA~SU! KANPA~I!" Everyone cheered clinking their glasses before everyone dug into the food.

"This is cheap stuff." Beatrix complained.

"Oh don't be like that, Bea. Just enjoy the food," Shiki said who was just drinking cola.

"Never thought I'd see you drink soda, dude." Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm…" Shiki shrugged, "Not that big of a deal."

"Wow… food made by former seats of the Elite Ten." Yuki gulped nervously.

"I wonder what they taste like." Ryoko wondered.

"I'm so nervous to try a bite." Megumi said.

"Too late, I'm digging in." Beatrix shoved the girls aside to sample the food. "That's good, I mean it's not sweet, but pretty good."

"That's pretty high praise from her." Shiki chuckled.

Yuki, Ryoko, and Megumi looked at each other before they took a piece of lamb that was in green paste with their forks and bit into it. All of them gasped in surprise at the taste. "This dish is so Arabian!" They said at the same time.

"It's really good." Shun smiled small.

"What is this paste spread on the lamb?" Megumi asked.

"That's harissa. It's an all-purpose hot pepper spice blend from North Africa." Joichiro explained. "Using traditional Middle Eastern cooking as a base, I added parsley and garam masala this time around."

"T-Tendou-san, what's this one?" Daigo asked.

"That is zuppa de pesce. A Ligurian seafood soup that uses stoccafisso."

"What about this one?" Shoji asked.

"And this!" Marui questioned eagerly.

 _'They were all wound up tight when they showed up, but with a single bite, they all opened their hearts.'_ Isshiki said as he took a bite of the lamb and sighed in content at the deliciousness. _'This dish is bursting with the creator's personality!'_

"Man, you really outdid yourself with this feast, Shishou." Kurogasa chuckled as he bit into his food.

"Obaachan ga iteita: Truly delicious food will change the life of the one who eats it." Tendou quoted.

"Heh, right."

"What about this one?" Marui asked as he took a piece of food. Joichiro however had this comical look on his face when Marui bit into it and suddenly cringed and looked disgusted. "Mazui!"

"Oh man…" Kurogasa groaned with a facepalm.

"Not again…" Tendou sighed irritably.

"Oh that one! I tried to recreate a snake dish I had last month! It's so disgusting!" Joichiro smiled with a comical look on his face. "They chop the snake up with the skin still on, and then boiled the pieces without further prep work."

Soma took a bite too and had the same comical look as his old man. "This dish really sucks, Dad!"

"Right? It's in the top ten best disgusting dishes!"

"DAMMIT YUKIHIRA, NOT ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR OUTLIERS! GIVE ME THAT!" Tendou and Kurogasa said in unison before both of them picked up the snake dish and threw it out the opened window.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, NOOOOOOO! IT WAS SO DISGUSTING!" Joichiro and Soma cried out at the same time.

"Wow…" Beatrix muttered. "Idiots in stereo."

"Well… outliers aside, Joichiro." Fumio began. "I noticed you making more gentle dishes now. You used to be called The Demon back in the day when it comes to your cooking. You should let Gin try it sometime."

"Gin?" Kurogasa blinked.

"You don't mean-" Soma added.

"Yes, Gin-senpai was with Soma's father in this very dorm, rivals who were always trying to surpass the other." Tendou explained. Fumio then took out a photo to show to the dorm students. Gin used to have spiky black hair, back in the day while a young Joichiro had a spitting image of his son albeit with the same hair that was somewhat decent.

"This is Gin. And that's Joichiro. Both of them were second-year high schoolers when this photo was taken." Fumio said.

"They look so young!" Yuki blushed.

"I have to admit… they're actually not that bad looking." Beatrix admitted.

"Fumio-san, don't show that to them," Joichiro sighed with an embarrassed smile.

"Why not?" Fumio smirked.

"Chef Dojima was also a part of the Polar Star…" Megumi said amazed.

"Seriously?" Soma deadpanned.

"First seat: Gin Dojima and second seat: Joichiro Saiba." Fumio recalled. "When these two became the core, Polar Star entered a golden age. They won victory after victory in Shokugeki, seized land and expanded the dorm, invested in kitchen facilities, and secured procurement routes for ingredients. We were fully self-sufficient."

"We were like a small nation, really." Joichiro chuckled.

"Those fields you're using outback sans the rice field, the fermentation workshop, the chicken coop plot, they were all obtained when Gin and Joichiro's crew were around." Fumio added, making the students be in awe.

"Ha, my sweets experimental station and Nero's celler were made by us!" The sweets master said although was ignored.

"A what?" Joichiro asked.

"I have a high standard for making sweets, so I have to manufacture special sugars, dyes, etc etc etc." Beatrix said eating a… gold colored chocolate bar? "Ah, the taste of edible 4k gold."

"Wait gold?" Tendou said, now confused at the girl's food.

"Oh yes. Edible gold. It's so~ good with ice cream." Beatrix said.

"…" Everyone just looked at her… then at Nero.

"Her mom sent her a huge allowance for supplies and the like." The son of the sweet maker said.

"Figures…" Kurogasa slightly deadpanned.

"Didn't I send you money?" Tendou said with a small smile.

"You did… and that's only 'some' of your personal savings?" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Yes, and do not worry. It barely made a dent. My checking account is ten times that amount."

"The hell it is! There's no way you'd make that much just because you walked the Path of Heaven! Money isn't everything, Shishou!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

"I never said it was, and I got the money from my advice to the government, detectives and other high ranking officials. They paid quite high for my knowledge. I never used them unless I needed to, thus the yearly give back and taxes are quite agreeable to me."

"Mmmmmmmmmm…" Kurogasa pouted, crossing his arms.

* * *

And so, after the party was done, everyone cleared the dining room, washed the dishes and dried them before putting them away and everyone turned in for the night, all but the Yukihira family, Kurogasa, and Tendou.

"That should do it." Kurogasa sighed to himself.

"Kurogasa…" Tendou started with a serious look. "I'm here to tell you that, from now on your life will have more conflicts. Are you prepared for that outcome?"

"Of course I am." Kurogasa nodded. "You know that. What's with the change in mood?"

"Nothing, also when's the wedding for you and Na-chan?" Tendou smirked at the boy.

"Ehhhhhh?! What?!" Kurogasa blushed madly. "C'mon, we're too young for that!"

"Hahaha, I jest." Tendou laughed at the student as he looked at him. "Kurogasa, if I were you, learn some Indian recipes for the following competition."

"Indian? Why?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh let's just say I have my perks."

"Of course you do…" Kurogasa deadpanned. Tendou then approached him and bumped his fist against his chest. "Hm?"

"Just remember… Each meal only happens once in your life, so make each one the most important." Tendou said.

"U-Uh… okay." Kurogasa blinked. He was confused as to why he would say it like that, but nodded nonetheless.

"Hey Dad," Soma said.

"Hm?"

"What was the Polar Star Dormitory back then?"

Joichiro smirked at that. "It was fun. Everyone worked on perfecting their craft however they could." It was then that the adults and kids went out to the back and sat on the steps, as they had a conversation, talking about the many things that happened and the adventures that Kurogasa and Soma had, up to this point. When they were done, they turned off the lights and were about to turn.

"Wanna sleep in our rooms?" Kurogasa asked as he and Soma held up their keys.

"Sure, I guess." Joichiro said, stretching his arms to loosen up he noticed the number on Soma's key. "Heh, Soma, you're in Room 303?"

"Looks like you have Room 111, Kurogasa." Tendou smirked.

"Yeah. Why?" Soma asked.

"In the middle of the room, there's a scorch mark from when a pot fell to the floor. It used to be my room." Joichiro said fondly.

"And there's a faint scratch mark I carved at the corner of the table with my signature on it. That's _my_ room." Tendou smiled before the two adults left. "Fumio-san, can you give Saiba-senpai and I two of the empty rooms?"

"Hai yo!" Fumio called out.

Kurogasa and Soma looked at each other before they looked at their room keys.

* * *

When Soma went to his room, he went to the middle of it and moved the small table that was there. Under it was indeed an old scorch mark that looked to be burnt. He then looked to the window and imagined his father being his 15-year old self, sitting near the window. "Dad stayed here…" He murmured. After reminiscing, he got himself ready and tucked himself in bed as he looked at the ceiling. "Joichiro… Saiba, huh? I don't know much about _that_ chef…" He muttered.

* * *

In Kurogasa's room, Kurogasa looked at the corner of his desk and saw a faint carving of a kanji that read 'Heaven' making him gasp slightly before he looked to his bed and imagined a 15-year old Tendou, sitting there on the bed. "This was… Shishou's room…" He murmured.

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*

"Hm?" Kurogasa said, before he went to the door and opened it.

And the person was Shiki, "Hey Kurogasa, you got a minute? I have a favor to ask."

"Huh? What's up?" He tilted his head.

"I want to have a battle with you."

"Eh?" Kurogasa asked surprised. "You mean a Shokugeki?"

"Obviously, so what do you say? I have no problems if you decline." Shiki said with a straight face.

"I mean, not that I mind, but why? And what's at stake here?" Kurogasa asked.

"Bragging rights, and to be honest, I just wanted to see where my level is at. Kurogasa, to me, you're the most talented person in this school. I just want to know if my decision on coming here was a mistake or not." Shiki explained as he sighed. "Although if you do accept, don't tell the others, especially Beatrix."

"Why not tell her? Would she be that mad?"

"No… lt'll just make her sad…"

"Um… okay." Kurogasa blinked. "So… what's the theme?"

"Cake."

"Cake?" Kurogasa repeated… before he smiled. "You… are so screwed…"

Nero smiled back… for once Kurogasa took a step back from the confidence it had, "Well… perhaps not. Will three days be enough for the match?"

"Fine by me. See ya then."

"Good night." Shiki said, before leaving completely.

* * *

The next day…

*Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn!*

Kurogasa sat up on his bed and stretched out to loosen up. "What a good night sleep… I haven't had a good night sleep like that in a long time." He said to himself. He then got out of bed and did his morning routine in the bathroom before going to the kitchen so that he could cook something for breakfast. However, upon arriving, he saw Soma and Joichiro… having a cooking duel. Fumio, Isshiki, and Megumi were there as well. "What's… going on here?"

"Ah, Kurogasa-kun, good morning." Isshiki greeted.

"Oh hey Kurogasa, you're up." Joichiro said. "Just in time."

"Having another bout with your son, huh?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

"You know it." Joichiro smirked a bit.

"Does this happen a lot?" Megumi asked Kurogasa.

"Pretty much." Kurogasa shrugged. "Those two have been cooking off since Soma was in sixth-grade. Mr. Joe has about 500 wins under his belt."

"It's 489!" Soma snapped.

"I stand corrected." He smirked, before he looked around seeing that Tendou wasn't there. "Fumio-san, do you know where Shishou went?" He asked.

"He left early this morning, saying something about an important errand he needed to run." Fumio recalled.

"Ah." Kurogasa nodded, before turning to Megumi, "So what's going on here, Megumi-chan? What's the theme for this cook-off?"

"Fumio-san said something about a dish that will charge us up and get ready to start the day." Megumi said. "Isshiki-senpai, Fumio-san, and I are judges. And they only have an hour to make their dishes."

"Don't worry, we'll make ya an extra plate. You don't have to judge, but you can still eat." Joichiro assured.

"That's good to hear. It _has_ been awhile since I had your food." Kurogasa said as he sat on a stool. The two of them continued to cook until Soma was the first to finish.

"Thanks for waiting!" Soma grinned as he presented his tray of four plates to them. "What I have for you is an apple risotto with bacon!"

"Risotto?" Fumio asked rather interested. "Well, you do like to keep things interesting with surprises."

"Look, there are finely diced apples in here." Megumi noticed, before taking a smell. "It has a sweet-sour refreshing fragrance. Maybe he added lemons in here."

"Yes. It has a wonderful crispiness to it." Isshiki said. "The fragrance alone is shaking my leaden stomach awake and rousing my appetite! Enough to vanquish any sleepiness!"

"Well let's see how it actually tastes." Kurogasa said, before the four of them took a spoonful of the risotto and placed it in their mouths. Their eyes widened at the refreshing taste.

"The apples lend a crispy texture and mellow sweetness." Megumi commented. "And the onions have been simmered until they impart a silky texture to the risotto. The bacon pieces serve as accents for the gentle apple flavor infusing the entire dish."

"Try adding black pepper to the dish. It'll change the flavor in a good way."

"Let's see…" Fumio said, as the four of them used the grinder to grind black pepper into it and tasted it again. "Oh my… the subtle sweetness of the apples and onions…"

"…contrasts with the peppery bite of the black pepper." Isshiki finished.

"Like yin and yang." Kurogasa added with a smile, "I have to admit, even _I_ didn't see that coming. Not only that, you get vitamins, fats, and carbohydrates. The rice is on the soft side, so it's gentle on the stomach. Perfect for eating right after you wake up."

"But there's something puzzling." Isshiki noticed. "The rice and onions have been infused with the flavor of apples, but if it's been cooked that long, the apples would've been mushy, yet they still have a crispy texture."

"You're right." Megumi realized. "How is that possible?"

"I used this." Soma grinned showing a glass bottle of… apple juice?

"Apple juice?" Megumi gasped.

"Yep. When I was simmering sauteed rice and onions, I gradually added apple juice as the dish simmered down." Soma explained. "The diced apples were added later and cooked long enough to warm them."

"That would explain why they retain their raw texture." Kurogasa pondered. "That's rather innovative. The flavor of the apples permeate the dish, and the apple juice was behind it."

"Even though the topic was presented on the fly, you were able to produce this dish spot-on, Soma." Fumio commented with a nod of approval. "This apple risotto was the perfect response to this assignment." It was then that Joichiro had finished his dish and the way he carried himself while bringing it to them, he had this aura that tells them he was a person one should not mess with. _'My, what a terrifying man. I can just sense how he might be able to surpass this near perfect dish Soma made with ease.'_

"Thanks for waiting." Joichiro said, as he presented the dishes in front of them. "Joichiro's Special Rich Ramen."

"EH?!" Everyone asked shocked.

"Uh… ramen?" Kurogasa blinked. "Isn't that a bit too much? Having ramen in the morning?"

"The broth looks very rich." Megumi commented.

"There _are_ regions that have ramen in the morning." Isshiki explained. "But just looking at it, it's a thick seafood-based broth."

"And here I thought you actually changed!" Fumio snapped. "Your pursuit of the element of surprise goes too far! You served untested recipes and bizarre ingredients without a second thought at a Shokugeki! That's why you used to suffer random losses from time to time!"

"Hmph, I was pretty ornery back then." Joichiro put a hand on his chin with a smirk.

"That's not something to be proud of, Mr. Joe…" Kurogasa sweat dropped. He then sniffed the ramen before raising an eyebrow. "And I wouldn't jump the gun just yet, Fumio-san. The smell of the ramen is actually light and mellow."

"Hmph…" Fumio scoffed in thought. "You're right. Well then, let's get to it." The four of them took their chopsticks and got some noodles on them before slurping it. The four of them had surprised looks on their faces, more so than when they tasted Soma's dish.

"This isn't bad." Megumi got out. "These noodles have yuzu citrus kneaded into them."

"Even though it's rich, I can keep going." Fumio said.

"More like you _can't_ stop!" Isshiki corrected, as they kept eating the noodles, surprising Soma.

"This broth, you put soy milk and scorched miso into this, didn't you Mr. Joe." Kurogasa said. "But how did you get this depth of flavor?"

"I've added grated ebi-imo taro, which has a fine elastic texture and a rich taste." Joichiro explained. "Doing so imparted a creamy depth to the broth."

"I feel so warm from within," Megumi noticed as she fanned herself a bit.

"It must be the effect of the chili oil, grated ginger, and garlic." Isshiki deducted. "The mild soy milk masks the bite of those ingredients, letting them gradually warm you up…"

"The toppings were taken into great care as well." Fumio added. "Lotus and burdock roots were thinly sliced and fried to a golden color. The carrots and turnips were grilled over charcoal until lightly scorched, then seasoned with rock salt to bring out their natural sweetness. Just like in French cuisine, each ingredient was prepared using a method uniquely suited to it to deepen its flavor."

"Similar to Shinomiya-senpai's Nine Vegetable Terrine in a sense…" Kurogasa pondered.

"And to top it off, he used tempeh!" Fumio added.

"Tempeh?" Soma asked.

"It's a fermented soy-based food product originating in Indonesia." Isshiki explained. "It's made by fermenting soybeans with tempeh mold, which is found on hibiscus and banana leaves. It's traditional food that's been made for over 400 years."

"It's light yet filling! Like char siu pork!" Megumi smiled brightly.

"The texture is close to that of meat, so it's used a lot by vegetarians and macrobiotics practitioners, those who don't eat meat or dairy products." Joichiro stated. "For this dish, I prepared the tempeh by cooking it in soy sauce and sake."

"A vegetarian broth?" Kurogasa asked.

"Spot on. It's made from kelp and shiitake mushrooms. No meat involved." Joichiro nodded. "When I was traveling overseas a long time ago, I met a priest who was bemoaning the fact that he had to abstain from meat and fish for religious reasons."

"So you came up with this as a substitute." Kurogasa guessed.

"Correct again."

"I see." Fumio understood. "The umami components of the kelp and shiitake mushrooms have a synergistic effect when used in combination. It makes it possible to achieve such a solid flavor without using bonito fish… then that means you used no meat or fish!" She realized. "By multiplying the flavor of soybeans, and other vegetables, you created a dish that's deeply satisfying!"

"Wow Mr. Joe. You never cease to amaze." Kurogasa shook his head with a smile after finishing his dish.

"Now then, onto the judging. Present the dish you think was better." Fumio said.

*DONK!*

*DONK!*

*DONK!*

Soma frowned. It wasn't a surprise as to who won as all three of them placed Joichiro's dish ahead of Soma's.

"It's unanimous. The winner is Joichiro!" Fumio declared.

"It wasn't much." Joichiro smirked, taking the hair tie off his hair. Soma took off his headband and sighed in a deep breath.

 _'Both demonstrated more than sufficient elements of surprise, innovation, and consideration of the condition of the diner in the morning.'_ Fumio thought. _'But after tasting that ramen full of vitality, Yukihira's dish lacks in comparison. It's a complete victory!'_

"Soma-kun." Isshiki said, making the said person look at him. "Your dish was delicious, but to me it seemed a little lackluster. Though it's morning, I'd just finished field work. I guess I wanted something more substantial. Joichiro-san's dish was perfect."

"I see…" Soma frowned in thought, "The dish I made was designed to minimize the possibility of not meeting their individual needs…"

"But your old man did the opposite." Kurogasa cut in. "He maximized their satisfaction."

"Still, I guess you grew a little." Joichiro intervened, "An apple risotto huh… not bad." Soma looked at his father as he bumped his chest with his fist. "Listen up Soma, as long as you're in this school, you'll have matches. Until you lose to me again, don't lose to anyone else."

"Dad…" Soma muttered.

"In any case, that's your 490th loss!" Joichiro grinned, showing his trolling personality, ticking off Soma.

"Why you-" Soma growled with comical angry eyes.

"Heh. I guess we know where Soma got his trolling personality from." Kurogasa smirked.

Both of them then took out memo notebooks and wrote them down. "That's another win for me. It's not as satisfying when I don't have a single defeat to my name." Joichiro chuckled.

"Urusei! I'll show you next time!" Soma grumbled.

"They're… recording it?" Megumi blinked with a sweat drop.

"Yep. They're meticulous like that. They recorded every single match they had." Kurogasa sighed, before thinking, _'Speaking of… I need to prepare for_ mine _.'_

"Oh by the way, Kurogasa. Mind if I talk to you for a bit? Just the two of us." Joichiro said.

"Huh?" Kurogasa blinked. "Sure,"

* * *

 **Three days later…**

"Minna-sa~n! Konnichiwa~! This is your cute MC Urara-cha~n!" Urara winked.

"Urara-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Most of the boy cheered.

"Today, we have ourselves another Shokugeki! And now, the contestants will be coming in from the each corner!" The girl lifted her right arm to where Kurogasa is coming from as the titantron screen on top for all to see showed his name with a blue fiery background.

 **枢木黒笠**  
Kurogasa Kururugi

"In the blue corner, once again, we have The Conquering Sushi Shogun! Kurogasa Kururugi!" Urara announced as Kurogasa walked towards the arena with his chef uniform on and approached the kitchen stadium with his ingredients in tow. As he walked towards his position. He remembered the talk he had with Soma's father.

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _After Soma and Joichiro had their match, the latter took Kurogasa aside to talk with him in private. "Is something wrong, Mr. Joe?" Kurogasa asked confused._

 _"Nah, it's nothing." Joichiro waved off. "I heard from your Shishou about reuniting with your childhood friend."_

 _"Y-You did?" Kurogasa asked a bit surprise._

 _"Mhmm. He told me all about it." Joichiro nodded with a warm smile, placing a hand on his shoulder._

 _"It was definitely worth the wait." Kurogasa looked down, with a smile before looking at Joichiro. "And this time, I'm not gonna let her go ever."_

 _"You're starting to grow into a man." Joichiro smiled. "In that case, let me tell a great trick into being a good chef."_

 _"A trick?" Kurogasa asked curiously, "What is it?"_

 _"The trick to being a good chef…" Joichiro began._

 **End Flashback**

* * *

He broke out of his thoughts when his opponent's name showed on the Titantron with the red fiery background.

 **騎士志木**  
Shiki Kishi

"And in the red corner, we have the Shiki "Nero" Kishi!" Urara announced as Shiki came through the entrance as well with his ingredients too. "And now to run through the conditions. The theme is Cake. And for this battle, the time limit is two hours! And the conditions are… uh…" The girl paused looking confused as she walk towards both of them. "Excuse me, is this right?" Urara showed the boys a note card to which they nodded. "Uh… okay! AHEM! This Shokugeki is for bragging rights!"

"Bragging rights?"

"That's it?"

"It's rather lame."

"But why just for bragging rights? There's gotta be something more to this."

"Nope! Not really!" Shiki called out.

"Now then let's proceed!" Urara declared as Kurogasa and Shiki were at the ready. "Contestants, to your stations! Everything is at stake in this battle of the palates! Let the Shokugeki… begin!"

 ***DING! DING! DING!***

* * *

 **食戟**  
Shokugeki

 **枢木黒笠** **vs.** **騎士志木**  
Kurogasa Kururugi vs. Shiki Kishi

 **Theme:** Cake

At that point, as the competition began, the Polar Star students just arrived.

"Aw man, just in time." Soma panted. "Why didn't he tell us that Kuro was doing a Shokugeki?"

"I-I don't know. He didn't say anything about this at all." Megumi added as they took their seats.

As they did, Beatrix looked to see who Kurogasa was facing and her eyes widened in shock as she saw who. "Shiki…" She muttered. "Why…?"

For Kurogasa's cake, he had with him: 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans, 2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pans, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of fine salt, 2 cups of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 5 large eggs at room temperature, 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract, and 1 cup of milk. For the frosting, he needed 3 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature, Pinch of fine salt, 3 1/4 cups of confectioners' sugar, 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of milk.

First Kurogasa, preheated the oven to 350 degrees F. He then buttered the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans; dusting it with flour, and tapping out the excess. Next he whisked together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl before setting it aside.

Once he was done with that, he beat the butter, sugar and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about five minutes until it was light in color and fluffy. As it was whisking, he beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla until it was combined.

"I wonder what kind of cake Kuro's making." Marui wondered.

"It's strange. I don't see him as the kind of person to bake cakes other than Beatrix." Shun added.

"Yeah, his specialty is rice. What's up with him and cakes?" Yuki asked confused.

"We'll just have to see where this goes." Ryoko added.

Kurogasa alternated on folding the flour mixture and the milk into the batter with a spatula, adding the flour in three additions and the milk in two, starting and ending with the flour, until it was just smooth. He then divided the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

After that, he baked the cakes on the same oven rack for about 35 to 40 minutes, until it was golden on top and the centers spring back to the touch. He would rotate the pans about halfway through just in case they seemed to be browning unevenly. Once they were done baking, he took them out of the pan and let them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks to let it cool completely.

"Look at those cakes." Daigo gulped.

"They look so spongy." Shoji added.

While the cakes cool, Kurogasa beat some butter and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until it was smooth. As he did that, he gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Once it's all been added, he increased the speed to medium-high, and beat it until was white and fluffy. He then added 2 tablespoons of the milk, and beat it to incorporate in. He then beat in the remaining milk, one tablespoon at a time so the frosting will be spreadable but not runny.

"He's making a vanilla cake?" Isshiki tilted his head.

"What's wrong?" Megumi asked.

"It's strange. Anyone can possibly make a vanilla cake. It's a rather simple recipe, but… why would Kurogasa-kun choose something so simple as that?" He wondered.

Kurogasa then got ready for the assembly. He placed one cake layer right-side up on a cake plate or stand, and spread 1 cup of the frosting. He then topped it with the second cake layer, frosting the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

"Now for the secret weapon…" Kurogasa grinned to himself as he pulled out from his bin… a coconut?

"Coconut?" Ryoko asked as Kurogasa suddenly took out a machete and cracked the coconut open, letting the juice pour into a cup he put under. After that, he took a coconut grater and shaved off the inside of the coconut so there would be coconut shavings and he used that to garnish the vanilla cake.

"And done."

At the same time, Shiki smiled as he slicked back his hair, got a pair of square glasses and wore a white smock over his usual clothes, his eyes were void of anything natural as he slowly pulled his ingredients in specific places while looking at Kurogasa's station and smiled with a kind nod.

Slowly he separated the yolks from the white as he cracked three eggs at the same time, having the yolks and whites in different bowls. Nero went to the pan as he heated up milk while adding small amounts of cinnamon, vanilla, and lastly a pinch of cocoa powder. Before even any bubbles appeared, the young man gently put it to the yolks, while softly beating them.

As he finished, the dark haired male went to grind up some coffee beans as he medium coarse them. Adding a few cups of sugar into the egg mixture, the son of Oren, whisked them quickly with one hand as he started to brew coffee with the other hand with a old fanish coffee machine.

After seeing the egg mixture nearly doubling in size and smelling sweet, the young man took out a bar of chocolate and chopped them with blinding speed as the bar of chocolate that was once a solid mass, became finely cut powder.

The boy threw some up into the air as he lit a match creating a-

*BOOM~!*

-small explosion above his head.

"What the-" Yuki panicked. "How did the powder explode?!"

"Oh that's easy, the more fine the powder, the most easily it can ignite. Like a portable bomb starter or something." Megumi said, "My mother told me that in the old days some people died because of that in hot days or a small spark."

Shiki nodded to himself as he took the cocoa powder and made more, again finely cutting more while getting some flour to mix it with. He resumed whipping the mixture as he gained a nice smooth chocolatey base.

Shiki quickly added his cakes into the oven as he slowly made three frostings with dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. As he did this, Shiki suddenly grabbed cherries and strawberries from the pantry cutting them into nice pieces.

He grabbed the cake knowing it was done the way he wanted it: very soft and low density, and the young man cut the cake to have four layers. He added the dark frosting into the last layer, then added one more layer as he added the milk chocolate and cherries to it before adding the third layer with white chocolate frosting. The last layer was added as Shiki smirked and he went to a double boiler to drop white chocolate and some sugar, watching it melt and gain a nice shine to it, he slowly poured the melted chocolate all over the cake as he got a spatula to slowly spread and even coat the cake.

Now noticing the crumbs from the cake when he cut the layers Shiki sprinkled on top as he places cherries and strawberries on top. The young man then took the remaining white chocolate mix and added dark chocolate to place into a metal pan to have it throw into the blast chiller. After looking at the coffee was done, the man grabbed it, cut up white and black pieces of chocolate in little sharp pieces then stabbed them into the middle top of his cake.

Slowly pouring the coffee he made into three tea cups and had the cake on the plate he nodded to himself, "Done…"

 ***DING DING DING!***

"Alright! Time's up!" Urara announced as the crowd roared. "And now it is time for judging. Would both chefs please place your cakes in front of the judge's table." Kurogasa and Shiki then slowly lifted their cake stands and slowly but surely placed them on a table in front of the judges. "Now then, we'll start with the challenged, the Conquering Sushi Shogun, Kurogasa! Please present your slices of cake."

Kurogasa nodded as he took a knife and cut into his lesser tier, three slices of cake, one on each plate and presented them to the judges. "What I made for you today is a simple classic vanilla cake with coconut shavings for garnish. Please enjoy." He said, before stepping back.

"A vanilla cake?" Judge #1 asked. "Why make something so simple?"

"Yes. I find that baffling as well." Judge #2 added.

"Surely, you could make something more refined than this." Judge #3 said.

"Sometimes, it's best to go back to the basics." Kurogasa said. "Please, have a bite."

The judges looked at each other before looking at the cake and taking a piece of them to eat. The moment they did, their eyes widened in surprise.

"What… what is this?!" Judge #1 asked shocked.

"It's so light… and fluffy!" Judge #2 added in surprise. "I feel like I'm floating in the clouds!"

"How can this be? How can something so simple taste this delicious?!" Judge #3 questioned, earning murmurs from the crowd.

"No way… something so simple as that tastes that good?"

"There's gotta be some sort of secret ingredient to that."

"It's not possible."

"Not bad." Nero said as he passed Kurogasa who shivered in fear for a moment from Nero's confidence.

 _'What the- what's with Shiki today…? It's like he's a completely different person.'_ Kurogasa thought as his opponent presented his cake.

"What I present to you three, is my Noire Cake." Shiki said gently cutting three slices with the most visually appealing slices as he gave each judge with a cup of coffee. "With my special blend coffee."

"Some kind of chocolate cake?" Yuki asked.

"Yes, a dark chocolate cake with sweet three flavor frostings."

"But what kind of coffee usually goes well with chocolate?" Ryoko asked Isshiki.

"Hmm, I guess any will do. Coffee is naturally bitter, so being paired with a sweet like cake might make experience tasters enjoy the sweetness to a better experience."

"Hmmm… this looks rather promising." Judge #1 said, inspecting his slices.

"And it comes with coffee as well." Judge #2 added.

"I see that you made the cake very sweet to complement the bitter coffee, old but a good choice." Judge #3 said. The three judges then took their bites and as soon as they did, they dropped their forks almost instantaneously.

"U-Uh…" Kurogasa got out, nervously. _'What just happened?'_

"…" The first judge just look up crying silently.

The second judge just took sip of his coffee before trembling as he broke down crying in tears as well.

"WAHHHHHHHHHHHH~!" THe third judge just immediately broke down.

"What happened?! Is the Noire cake really that bad?!" Urara panicked.

"It reminds of the time I had my first coffee with my father, so bitter… but got me a nice cake slice to sweeten it…" The first judge said smiling through his tears. "The flavors reminded of that great memory….

"My deceased wife would always enjoy a cup of coffee with chocolate." The second judge said looking at his cup with a sad stare. "I never thought I can remember such a wonderful memory like this after so long…"

"WAHHHHHHHHHH!" The third judge continue to cry with a thumbs up.

"!" Kurogasa gasped in shock, as did the others in the audience.

"No way, did Kurogasa meet his match?!"

"That's some high praise from the judges!"

"This guy could actually beat him!"

At that point, everyone else except the Polar Star Dorm students started cheering for Shiki.

"D-Did anyone just realize something?" Yuki said stunned.

"They're cheering for Shiki." Ryoko noticed.

"No… what grades did he get in classes?" Marui started, "I heard that he always get 75% on all grades… that means… he must be incredible skilled to have same grade over and over again…"

"You're suggesting that Nero purposely did that to hide his skill set?" The smoke cooker said.

"I mean it's possible."

"Shiki… you…" Kurogasa turned to him in complete shock. And who can blame him, since this was the first time that he saw him _this_ serious.

"I hate standing out…" Shiki admitted although Kurogasa could tell that he wasn't telling the whole story.

"N-Now judges, please cast votes. Whose cake is better?" Urara asked.

The judges, after calming themselves down all looked to each other, debating as to whose cake was better. And after a moment of discussing it amongst themselves, they nodded. The first judge pressed the blue button for Kurogasa. The second judge pressed the red button for Shiki. However, the third judge stayed silent before saying, "I declare this Shokugeki to be a draw!"

 **引き分け** **  
DRAW!**

* * *

"Oh my! Ladies and gentlemen, it's a tie!" Urara announced, shocking the audience.

"Y-You were going easy… weren't you?" Kurogasa stuttered in shock from tasting the cake Shiki made.

"I used my lesser tier cakes, just wanted to see how good you are. Sad to say, I'm bit behind if you're able to give me a tie."

"But… you coming here… wasn't a mistake?"

"No, it wasn't. I just wanted to see if my skills were acceptable. Either way… I had fun. Going against a friend is great validation for me. At least now, I won't be able to enter the Autumn Elections." The sweet maker said smirking.

"Shiki…" a new voice said. Kurogasa and Shiki turned to see Beatrix who had already approached them with her head down, the bangs covering her eyes.

"Kuro accepted it, meaning I wouldn't have made desserts if he didn't take it." Nero said raising his arms like a criminal would to not get shot. "So if anyone is dying choose him."

"Still… why…?" Beatrix murmured.

"I didn't want you to feel… discouraged that Oren taught me better than you." Nero said lowering his hat. "You deserve to be here more than me." The young man said quietly. "You're like my sister, a brother shouldn't bring down their siblings talents down."

"Shiki…" Beatrix murmured again, before hugging him, much to his surprise. "Just stay with me… please?"

"…Not like you'll give me a choice right?" The hat wearer chuckled as return the hug.

"Shut up…" She pouted.

"All's well that ends well… I guess." Kurogasa blinked.

"Although we can leave this school if you, me and Megumi get a nice hot spring and- GAK!" Beatrix choked as Shiki cut off her oxygen from a sleeper hold.

"Was she…" Kurogasa began.

"I'll knock you out and send you to Oren with nothing but a ribbon around your body, if you finish that sentence." Nero threatened with cold eyes.

"I won't say anything else." Kurogasa raised his hands.

* * *

The sun had set on another day, and the heiress of the Nakiri family was in her office, filling out and signing off the latest paperwork that she had just finished. Being a member of the Elite Ten is rather tiring, but the reward is just as big. "Finally… it's done…" Erina sighed to herself as she sat back in her chair and looked out the window with a distant look on her face, but it also had a small smile. A few days ago, she had finally reunited with Kurogasa after ten years of being apart. How she never noticed was beyond her, but that didn't matter anymore. He was back into her life and with him back, things will be a bit easier from here on out.

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*

"Hm? Who is it?" Erina asked, breaking out of her thoughts.

"It's me, Na-chan. Can I come in?"

Erina smiled at that, "Of course."

At that point, the door opened and Kurogasa walked in… wearing a butler's uniform?

"K-Ku-kun…?" Erina asked slightly surprised, while blushing as Kurogasa closed the door and approached her desk. He was clad in a white winged collar dress shirt with a grey vest, a black tie, and a black tailcoat over it. His trousers were black as well and he wore shiny black dress shoes and white gloves. Back in their younger days, Erina would have Kurogasa dress as a butler and she would blush every time he saw him wear it as he served her food. Balancing on his one hand was a small silver platter with a small silver dome cover. "W-What are you-"

"I thought of taking you down Memory Lane. Your dessert is ready, Ojou-sama." Kurogasa said with a smile as he gently placed the silver platter on her desk and took the lid off of it to place on the side, revealing a fork and a plate that had a perfect slice of the vanilla cake with coconut shavings he baked.

"Ku-kun… this is…" Erina gasped, wide-eyed.

"Hai… it's the cake that you liked ten years ago." Kurogasa nodded. "Just like I promised."

Erina can only smile gently as she saw the cake, she only hummed in peace looking at simple piece of pastry. "It looks good as I remembered it." She said, as she took her fork and sliced a piece before bringing it to her mouth to eat. "Mmmmmmm… and it tastes as I remembered as well."

"I'm glad you like it." Kurogasa smiled back. "I… missed that smile so bad."

Erina them quickly hugged her boyfriend tightly,"I'm just so glad to meet you again…"

"Me too…" Kurogasa muttered. "I never stopped thinking about you these past ten years, and it finally paid off."

"…" Erina just looked down in sorrow remembering the period of time between then and entering the school.

"You know… a great chef once told me this…" Kurogasa began.

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"The trick to being a good chef…" Joichiro began. "…is to meet a woman you want to devote all of your cooking to."_

 _"Eh?" Kurogasa asked with wide eyes._

 _"I'm not kidding. It worked for_ me _and I got that brat of a kid who wants to beat me as a chef." Joichiro chuckled._

 _"Heh, I guess you're right on that." Kurogasa scoffed good-naturedly. "These past ten years I've been training under Shishou… I did it all for her so I could see her again."_

 _"And it paid off didn't it?"_

 _"Yeah… it did." Kurogasa smiled gently. "And as I said before, I won't let go of her. This time for sure."_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"That's what he told you?" Erina asked.

"Yeah…" Kurogasa said with a blush. "As long as I keep thinking about you, I know my dishes will turn great."

"Ku-kun…"

Things were silent between the two of them as they kept their arms wrapped around each other before Kurogasa spoke again. "Hey Erina…"

"Hm?"

"Summer vacation is coming up soon." He said, as they broke the hug to look at each other. "Do you… want to come to Kyoto with me and spend vacation with my family?"

"Eh!? I mean, are we-!? Wha!? EH, EH, EH!?" Erina spat out many things, being totally caught off guard by the question.

"What's wrong?" Kurogasa asked confused, blinking.

"I mean… mmhh…" Erina blushed red, _'I need to stop reading ecchi mangas…'_

"Na-chan?"

"I-It's nothing!" Erina shook her head. "But… are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure. I don't think your grandfather would mind. And besides, my parents would _love_ to see you after ten years. Well… maybe Kaa-san. Dad's still on his cookbook signing tour." He said sheepishly with a sweat drop.

"Ohh… Well if I have time…" Erina said softly a bit shy about meeting Kurogasa's mother after so long.

"C'mon Na-chan… all this Elite Ten stuff has been getting to you a lot… I don't want you being so stiff all the time. Loosen up and spend summer vacation with me and my family. I guarantee that you'll feel a lot better. Trust me."

"O-Okay…" Erina said pouting being told what to do.

"What's wrong _now_?" Kurogasa chuckled.

"Nothing…" Erina said, eating the cake to calm herself down.

"Awww, are you being tsun-tsun?" Kurogasa teased.

"I have a fork… and I know how to use it!" Erina threatened, pointing the fork with a deadly gleam coming from the tip.

"Hai, hai. Wakatta yo," Kurogasa raised his hands in defense before slowly pushing the fork away to the side. "But really Na-chan, take some time off school and you'll be better before you know it. Can you do that?"

"I can, but I need… some convincing…" Erina blushed trying not to look at Kurogasa as she said that.

"Convincing huh…?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow before smirking. "I think I know one way."

Erina closed her eyes as Kurogasa kissed her and she was glad that she installed a button to lock her door.

* * *

And there you have it everyone. Finally, the tenth chapter of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe. We apologize if we haven't been able to update in such a long time. But don't worry, we will not abandon this story anytime soon. So don't forget to review and see you on the next Main Course!


	11. Dish 11

**Fen:** Hello everybody! Fen here for another of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe! And look who's back!

 **AQ:** Yo sorry had… sad life problems that needed to be dealt with.

 **Fen:** I know. And I won't tell that in detail to everybody here. But I'm glad that you're back with us now for this chapter.

 **AQ:** Yeah, yeah me too, Imma going to take a nap.

 **Fen:** O… kay then. o_o Well then, without further ado, let's start this chapter!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

Kurogasa was waiting for Erina to finish up with her Elite Ten meeting. As he waited, he thought about what happened at the Tōtsuki Resort. After so long, he was able to reunite with Erina. The only thing he regretted was not noticing the hints about her. They were right in front of him the whole time and he didn't notice. Then again, the same could be said for Erina. She didn't notice the hints about him either.

 _'Finally… after so long, I'm with Na-chan again…'_ Kurogasa thought. _'And I'll definitely stay with her… no matter what.'_

"Sorry to keep you waiting." A voice said. Kurogasa turned around to see Erina and Isshiki approach him.

"Erina, Isshiki-senpai." Kurogasa acknowledged. "Everything okay?"

"Nothing, just regular boring stuff." The youth loving teen said.

"Nothing to concern yourself about h-h-h…" Erina started out strong but when she tried to use a pet name… she got flustered. "Hmmm…"

"Doushita, Na-chan?" Kurogasa asked.

"I'm trying to call you… ho-ho… -hone… hmm!" Erina tried to say, but moaned in embarrassment. "I'm trying to use a pet name but it's… difficult."

"Aw c'mon, don't be like that. Just use my nickname like you always do." Kurogasa chuckled, patting her head.

"I can't, not around others." Erina whined childishly. "It's special…" The girl said with a blush full of love and shyness.

"Yes you can, c'mon, you can say it." Kurogasa teased somewhat.

"No," The girl pouted. "I don't want to."

"Okay, fine. Then you won't get another slice of my cake." Kurogasa snickered.

"Mou~ that's not fair~!" Erina pouted harder.

"Then say my nickname." He grinned.

"Mmmmmmmmmm… Ku… Ku… Ku-kun…"

"See? Now was that so hard?" Kurogasa patted her head again, only for her to try and quickly bite his hand, which she failed at. "Temper, temper." He teased again.

"Mmmmmmmmmm…" Erina pouted.

"Hmhmhm," Isshiki chuckled. "I'm glad to see you happy Erina, but more delighted to see you have someone to enjoy your life with."

"Oi, oi, no need to sound like a parent, Isshiki-senpai." Kurogasa chuckled.

"Well seeing as I am the oldest one amongst us at the moment, I can't help but see the younger generation enjoy their youth." Isshiki said with an honest smile.

"Well you got a point there. Anyways, Erina and I better get going. I'm going back to Kyoto to see Kaa-san." Kurogasa said.

"Hmhmhm… sure, go ahead. Just be careful not to get carried away with the fun." The teen said walking away.

Erina blushed so fast and hard that steam appeared for a second, "H-Hey!"

"Oh stop, Na-chan. He's just teasing." Kurogasa said, before holding out his hand to her with a smile. C'mon, we better pack our things."

* * *

 **(Cue Rough Diamonds by SCREEN MODE)**

 **(Instrumental)** The first three beats of the instrumental show Soma and Kurogasa in poses before the song starts picking up at the fast pace. The two boys glowed golden surrounded by fire as various pieces of food flew upwards before the flames covered the screen, changing to a scene of the 92nd Generation Prodigies in silhouettes, walking towards the camera as the title card appeared for a moment before the flames overwhelmed the screen and changed scenery.

 **(Omoi egaiteru IMEEJI yori haruka~ mukou~ gawa e~)** The scene shows various screen shots of Soma, Joichiro, Erina, Megumi, Alice, Ryo, Marui, Shun, Yuki, and Ryoko all looking at the camera with various experessions on their faces. **  
(Tsukuri agete yuku shinjitsu wa mada tooku~ hatena~i tabiji~)** The next scene then showed various screenshots of Takumi, Isami, Hisako, Mito, Akira, Jun, Isshiki, Eizan, Shiki, Beatrix, Tendou, and Kurogasa all doing the same thing as the first batch.

 **(Tagai no PURAIDO wo togi sumaseyou ze)** The next scene then changed to show various characters in the form of alumni, teachers, other support characters, and the headmaster of Tōtsuki Academy. **  
(Kotoba nante kazari wa hadakesaserya ii)** The scene then changes to four women alumni of Tōtsuki Academy before changing to Erina who looks to the sky with a look of content on her face.

 **(Butsukariai, migakareteiku~ Rolling Stone~)** On each beat of the music, we see various scenes of the cast and the various events that happened during their time at the Academy before it switched to Soma and Kurogasa who had their backs towards each other surrounded by various chef students ready to take them down, but they smirked at each other before they charged at them ready to take the challenge.

 **(Deai wa SHOCKWAVE! SHOCKWAVE! Mada shiranai sekai e~)** The next scene then shows various students standing on top of floating kitchen knives in the sky, that were all pointed towards the sun.  
 **(Aruki hajimeta, mubou na chousensha sa)** Soma, Megumi, Shun, Ryoko, Marui, and Yuki stood on their kitchen knives on one side while Ryo, Takumi, Alice, Hisako, Shiki, and Beatrix were opposite of them and the two lines of knives clashed and parried against each other,  
 **(Te ni shita yaiba de ashita wo kirihirakeba iin darou?)** Akira stood on top of a large cinnamon stick and waved his hand forward and golden beams of light shot of the cinnamon sticks striking the other kitchen knives down.  
 **(Dareka no mono ja nai… jibun dake no STORY)** But Soma's and Ryo's survive as they flew towards Akira's cinnamon stick and clashed. Soma, Ryo, and Akira then noticed one more kitchen knife floating in the sky, showing Kurogasa standing on it with Erina looking on at him.

 **(Cause we're still ROUGH DIAMONDS on the ro~ad!)** Kurogasa then jumped off doing a corkscrew flip then pivoted his body to dive down for a flying kick. As he dived down, a faint image of a certain red-armored beetle warrior overlaps him as he kicks the screen causing it to turn white and the screen shattered into pieces revealing a group shot of silhouetted members of the Elite Ten with a dark figure towering over them with a sinister smile before the scene changed to a group shot of the 92nd Generation Prodigies to end the song.

* * *

 **Dish 11:** Pho Chay - Vegetable Version

"A-Ano…" Megumi got out, as some of the Polar Star students were all gathered at the entrance at Kurogasa's dorm room, seeing two big suitcases, one he wasn't using at the moment, since it was empty, and the other he was packing with his clothes and everything else.

"Ah, it looks like he was kicked out." Soma chuckled, "And here I thought _I_ would be the one to leave."

"Nope. Just packing my stuff for summer vacation." Kurogasa answered casually, still busy packing up. "I'm taking Erina with me back to Kyoto to visit my parents."

"Bum ba bum-bum~!" Beatrix said humming the wedding march as she snickered. "Shotgun wedding?"

*BONK!*

"Ow!" Beatrix whined after Shiki hit her on the head.

"No… just no…"

"So how long are you going to be gone?" Megumi asked as Shiki was duct-taping Beatrix to a random boulder.

"A few weeks, give or take." Kurogasa smiled sadly. "I… Erina and I need to make up for lost time. Ten years overdue."

"Good luck. Here." Shiki passed Kurogasa some drinks. "Non-Alcoholic drinks, perfect for tender moments."

"Heh. Thanks." Kurogasa smirked, taking the bottle.

"Thank you, I'm out of the running for the upcoming battle." Shiki muttered as he had a sneaky look.

"What was that?" Kurogasa tilted his head confused.

"Huh? Oh nothing, just going to play some Fire Emblem with Beatrix at her dad's old house." Shiki said as Beatrix gasped excitedly.

"YOU FOUND IT!? FIRE EMBLEM: PATH OF RADIANCE?!"

"Yes!"

*BANG!*

In less than a second Beatrix threw a grenade to the wall and started to run with Shiki over her shoulder, "Revenge against the Mad King~!" She roared when slowly vanishing from the view of the others.

"That… was weird." Megumi blinked.

"HEY! Who blew up the wall?!" Fumio shouted in anger.

"Beatrix." Everyone chimed as Fumio sighed.

"Ugh… well at least she sends me the money to fix it…" The woman said walking away muttering for the girl's crazy intentions. "Oh, Soma. Your old man told me to give you a message before he left the other day. Saying you need to air out the diner."

Kurogasa smiled at that, "Huh, I should visit some time."

* * *

"Did you forget anything?" Senzaemon asked.

"Ojii-sama, I'll be fine. It's just for a few weeks." Erina said, as she had her suitcase ready to go.

"Mou~ I should be going with you and Kuro too!" Alice whined, with her comical pout, puffing her cheeks.

"Alice-chan, you and Kurogasa can have time later, but please let your cousin have her time with him first. Since they are lovers."

"De-mo~!" Alice whined.

"Ojii-sama, you do realize that Ku-kun isn't… _that_ , right?" Erina slightly deadpanned.

"Hahahaha, well, to take a chapter of my youth-"

"I'm leaving," Erina said not interested in hearing something to scar her forever.

"I gotta go boss Ryo-kun!" Alice said equally quickly as she left.

"Ohohoho, works every time."

* * *

And so, Kurogasa and Erina met up at the entrance of the school and after taking a limo to the rail station, the couple went to get their tickets from the machine, but… it was cute and funny seeing Erina trying to get her ticket by herself.

"Do I press this? No wait, that's the wrong one! It's supposed to be this one, no wait…" Erina pouted, frustrated.

"Uh… Need help, Na-chan?" Kurogasa asked sheepishly.

"N-No, I read about this in a manga… maybe this one?" Erina said pressing another one.

"Here, just let me do it before you break the machine." Kurogasa said, before gently pushing Erina's hand aside and pressing the correct buttons for getting tickets to Kyoto. "There we go."

"…" Erina move forward silently as she felt bad for letting Kurogasa do something so simple for her. The two of them continued walking around the station, before they arrived at the platform, waiting for the monorail train to come. However, as they waited, Erina was silent the entire time.

"Erina?" The boy said looking towards the girl who was looking around the monorail station.

"Hm?"

"What's wrong? You look like you're lost."

Erina jumped slightly from his words, "I… don't know what to do at these places."

"Right… _him_ ," Kurogasa said with a mixture of hate and sadness before smiling sadly. "Don't worry, I'll teach you everything you need to know. Ask me anything and I'll do my best to help."

"Umm… I guess everything?" Erina blushed from her lack of knowledge.

"That's… being broad, but okay, we'll start out small."

And so after train arriving, getting in the train, and sitting at their seats, throughout the two and a half hour train ride, Kurogasa talked to Erina about all kinds of things in the world outside of cooking. "I feel so… stupid from this much knowledge. I have basic knowledge but all these things you told me…"

"I don't blame you, Erina. I blame _him_ …" Kurogasa sighed. "He probably sheltered you for so long, I can't even imagine what he did to you… You didn't deserve any of that."

Erina didn't say anything but laid her head on his shoulder, "I love you… so please don't talk about him anymore… I don't want anything to do with that man."

"Alright, I won't…" He promised as he wrapped his arm around her.

* * *

Soon, they finally arrived in Kyoto and after getting out of the train, they walked around the city until they finally arrived at the house. "Here we are. Home sweet home." Kurogasa smiled a bit. It was still the same as before when he left for the Academy. A rather simple traditional Japanese house that one would actually find in the rural areas of Japan, but has been updated to modern standards.

"So you lived here all this time?" Erina said looking at the plain looking house her boyfriend lived. "I always thought you came from money like me."

"Nah. Money isn't really everything." Kurogasa waved off. "We're content with living what we have."

"I see…" Erina nodded with a serious look before looking a bit afraid. "…Ku-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Will your mom… be fine with me being your girlfriend?" Erina asked. "I mean she's been kind but when… _he_ banned you and your parents, I always thought… that you all might hate me." The girl said paling from the thought. "You're the only few who care for me so greatly… I don't want them to hate me for dating you."

"Are you kidding me? They would _love_ to see you again after so many years." Kurogasa said walking up to hold his love gently. "Dad and Kaa-san aren't the kind of people to hate people right off the bat. It'll be fine."

"O-Okay." Erina said, trying to build up her courage.

Kurogasa gently laid a kiss on her forehead, "It's going to be fine, trust me." He promised as the boy knocked on the door. "Kaa-san! Tadaima!"

"Hold on!" A female voice yelled as the two can hear footsteps coming and the door quickly opening. "Kurogasa!" The mother of the skilled chef smiled hugging her baby. "Welcome home, dear!"

"Okay Kaa-san, too tight… Can't breathe…" Kurogasa wheezed.

"Ah, gomen ne." Yukina realized, releasing her son before looking at the girl. "Ara, Erina-chan? Is that you?" She gasped.

"Ah… h-hello… Yukina-obasan…" Erina softly greeted the woman before Yukina suddenly hugged her, much to her surprise.

"Oh Erina-chan! I've missed you so much! It's been too long!"

Erina eyes were widened before closing them, letting a single tear run down as she hugged back the woman, "I-I missed you too…"

They then broke the hug as Yukina wiped her tears and held Erina's cheeks. "Oh look at you, you've grown into such a beautiful woman."

"Arigatou…" The girl thanked the woman shyly, looking at the ground.

"Saa saa, come on in, we have so much to catch up on!" Yukina said excitedly before pulling her in the house with Kurogasa following.

* * *

The three were sitting in the living as Yukina pour the two teens tea, "Here you go. So how's school been? I kept asking your Shishou but you know how he is."

"It's been a… new experience to say the least." The boy said as he added some sugar to his tea. "But I'm learning and meeting new friends… as well as finding Na-chan again."

The girl looked at her boyfriend before looking down meekly at her tea, "Ku-kun…" The girl mumbled.

"And I met up with Soma over there." Kurogasa added.

"Oh? How is he? I heard from his father that he's closing up shop. Is there a financial problem?" Yukina said before looking at Erina who didn't drink her tea but chose not to say anything.

"No… he just dropped Soma at school saying that if Soma ever wanted to beat him, he would need new experiences." Kurogasa chuckled.

" _That's_ his reason?" Erina said with a twitching eyebrow. "I had to go through that because the dad was too lazy to teach him?"

"Well, with almost 500 losses in their cook-offs, pretty much." Kurogasa shrugged with a smile.

* * *

"Achoo!" Soma sneezed before rubbing his nose. "Someone must be talking about me."

* * *

Erina's eyes widened at that, "Wow… he must be skilled to make that… ruffian lose that much." Even though she didn't like him, she still thinks he has talent… but will never say that to his stupid trolling face.

"Oh yeah, he is. He's on par with Gin-senpai and Shishou." He said. Erina shivered comically on who Kurogasa was referring to. "Oh stop, Na-chan. It's not like he's lording his record."

"Yeah, but I don't want to ever go against him. He has the biggest win record in Tōtsuki's history and almost beat everyone save for his… sister right?" Erina asked to make sure.

"That's because he doesn't want to make his imouto cry." Kurogasa chuckled again.

"Hmph, like someone who doesn't want _me_ to cry." Erina said with loving eyes to her boyfriend.

"O-Oi! What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kurogasa blushed.

"It means you're a great boyfriend…" Erina trailed off before realizing that she slipped up. "I mean-!"

"Ara? You two are dating?" Yukina gasped.

"Uh… about that. Ehehe…" Kurogasa said sheepishly.

That was when Yukina had this bright smile on her face. "Oooooooh, I'm so happy for you two!" she gushed, clapping her hands while tilting her head to the side. "When can I expect grandchildren?"

"K-Kaa-san!" Kurogasa stammered, blushing heavily.

*THUD!*

"Ahhhhhhhh, Erina!" Kurogasa panicked, seeing a fainted Erina slumping on the couch with a small nosebleed.

"What? Too soon?" Yukina tilted her head.

* * *

"Mmh…" Erina opened her eyes to see a white ceiling, "What happened?"

"Hey there, sleepyhead." A voice said. Erina turned her head to see Kurogasa sitting at her bedside.

"Ah, Kuro… where-" Erina started pushing herself upwards.

"In my room." Kurogasa said pushing the girl down back to her last position. "You fainted when Kaa-san teased you."

"Oh…"

"Sorry about that." Kurogasa apologized. "She was just too excited."

"Wait… am I in…" Erina looked at Kurogasa slowly as a blush started to make way to her face. "Y-Your… b-b-bed?"

"I _did_ say we're in my room." Kurogasa chuckled.

The girl pulled the sheets over the bottom half of her face to hide her embarrassment. "D-Do… you want to join me?"

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked. "You mean-"

"N-NO! I mean… we used to take naps under the trees when we were young, remember…? I… really missed your warmth." The girl said reaching his hand with hers. "Please…? Even for a few seconds…"

Kurogasa smiled at that. "How could I say no to that? We can do that for as long as you want. Now scoot over."

The honey-blonde girl nodded as she lifted up the sheets and allowed the love of her life to slip in. Kurogasa was in with her, as he wrapped his arms gently around Erina's neck. "Ah…" The girl sighed happily as she placed her forehead on the chest of Kurogasa. The girl and boy's eyes met and it didn't take long for them to kiss each other with loving passion.

* * *

The next day…

"Ara, you're going on a date?" Yukina asked.

"Yes, we are." Erina nodded.

"Yeah. Na-chan and I need to catch up." Kurogasa smiled. "We'll be away for a few hours, dad will be home soon right?"

"Yes dear. He should be coming home in a few days." Yukina said. "By the way, you should visit Rika at the restaurant. She misses you."

*POP!*

"Ku-kun, what is she talking about?" Erina twitched her eye, turning to her boyfriend.

"I swear, I did not break our promise before meeting up back with you." Kurogasa defended, raising his hands up.

"Ara? A promise?" Yukina said with eyebrow raised.

"T-That is if we get separated, we find our way towards each other!" Kurogasa quickly answered.

"Hmm? My motherly instincts are telling me that there's more~" Yukina smiled with an oni mask behind her, scaring the two teens.

"Y-You're just hearing things! C'mon Na-chan, let's go!" Kurogasa said, taking Erina's hand and running out of the house with her. It was after getting out of the house that they relaxed. "Phew… haven't seen her done that in a long time." He sighed in relief.

"Me either." Erina said, before pouting. "But really Ku-kun, who is this Rika?"

"She's another childhood friend of mine." Kurogasa answered, "And before you say anything, no, I did not date her before meeting up back with you."

"I-I wasn't going to say that!" Erina pouted as she didn't want to seem possessive.

"You being suspicious of me says otherwise." Kurogasa slightly deadpanned.

"Was not suspicious!" Erina growled.

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"HA! See? I told you I wasn't!" Erina smirked victoriously.

"Wha- how did-! That's so not fair! You twisted my words!" Kurogasa protested. "Stop acting jealous. I only have eyes for you Na-chan…"

Erina in her defense can only do one thing… tsundere protocols.

*STOMP!*

"ITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Kurogasa wailed in pain, hopping on one foot. "What was _that_ for?!"

"S-Sorry, It was instinctive!"

Meanwhile, Yukina watched from outside her window, seeing this unfold. "Ah~ young love," She sighed wistfully.

* * *

After their argument, Kurogasa and Erina walked around the city, hand-in-hand with the latter taking in the many sights of Kyoto. It was during their walk that they arrived at a restaurant. It was an average sized restaurant, enough to hold 100 people and right now, the business was going slow for today due to how they were little to no people in the restaurant. "Ah, I remember this place. The Chowing Dragon!" Kurogasa said as Erina looked at the exterior of the restaurant's roof, which was a green Japanese dragon in a cartoon style, smiling and holding a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a bowl of ramen in another hand.

"RIKA~!" A blue haired woman cried as the two teens noticed her. "Come on, let me in!"

"I said no!"

"Isn't that-" Erina got out.

"Ni Ongaku from my Cornish Hen Shokugeki… yes…" Kurogasa said as he walked forward. "Ms. Ongaku, what are you doing here and what did you do?"

"Rika left me! My kawaii student left her loving teacher…" Ni cried out with clouds of depression floating over her head.

"Wait, _she's_ the student you were talking about during my Shokugeki?" Kurogasa asked incredulously.

"Ha~i!" Ni cried as the clouds were now raining… actually creating real water that was hitting over Ni. "Especially now that those twins are moving into town!"

"Twins?" Erina asked confused. "Who are you talking about?"

"Ri~ka~!" Ni said now in a fetal position.

"She totally ignored me…" Erina deadpanned.

"Let's just go in and see what's going on." Kurogasa said, before the two went in the restaurant. "Hey Rika, I'm-"

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOONG!*

"ITEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!" Kurogasa wailed, as he was sent flying and crashing to the wall, even leaving an impression on the wall after a cast iron pan hit his form. The person in question was a beautiful girl about his age with long burgundy hair that fell to her mid back and has brown eyes. Her choice of attire was a white tank top with a jean coat that only goes down to just below her midriff. She also wore black shorts, white ankle socks and sneakers.

"Oh crap! You're not Ni!" The girl panicked.

"Hey… Rika… long time no see…" Kurogasa got out, his fingers and feet twitching every now and then.

"Oh my gosh! Kurogasa! I'm so sorry!" Rika freaked out, paling in horror as Kurogasa eventually fell onto the floor, his body still twitching. Erina could only look on in shock.

"Why did you hit my boyfriend?" It was more of curiosity than anger… which was rare for someone like Erina.

"Wait, what?" Rika said, looking at Erina. "Who are _you_?"

"Rika, what's going on?" A voice said, as two people came out of the kitchen, a man and a woman. The man was in 40's having short burgundy hair wearing a white collared dress shirt with tan khakis and brown dress shoes, while the woman was also in her 40's and she was an exact spitting image of Rika, and she had a much more mature and beautiful appearance. Her clothes of choice were a pink shirt, blue jean skirt that fell to her ankles, and black slippers. These were Rika's parents, Ryuunosuke and Rinoka. "Oh my, is that you, Kurogasa?" Rinoka gasped.

"Hi… Mrs. Ryusaki…" Kurogasa wheezed.

"I'm guessing Rika hit you again?" Ryuunosuke sighed, making Rika blush heavily in embarrassment.

* * *

"Sorry about that, Kuro…" Rika weakly laughed as they were in one corner of the restaurant with Rinoka applying first aid to Kurogasa.

"It's fine. Don't worry." Kurogasa said sheepishly. "Still, it's good to see you."

"Geez, you leave all of a sudden and that's what you say?" Rika sighed before smiling. "But… I'm glad to see my friend here!" She said playfully jabbing his stomach.

"Ehehe… yeah, same here." Kurogasa said. "Oh, by the way, this is my girlfriend Erina Nakiri. Na-chan, this is Rika Ryusaki, and her parents Rinoka and Ryuunosuke."

"Holy crap, Koji is going to have a heart attack when I tell him." Rika said stunned at the news.

"Koji?" Erina asked.

"Another friend of mine before meeting you."

"Mmmm?" Erina raised an eyebrow.

"W-What is it?" Hw stuttered, before paling. "H-Hold on! It's not like that! I totally don't swing that way!" Kurogasa panicked.

Erina released a breath of relief, "Thank goodness…"

"So why are you- hold on." Rika said throwing a pan at an open window.

"OW!"

"Stay away Ni!" Rika shouted, before clearing her throat. "Anyways, why are you two here?"

"Early summer vacation." Kurogasa answered. "I thought I'd take Erina with me back here to visit Kaa-san. Plus, I showed her around town and here we are." He added.

"Ah, I see." Rinoka nodded.

"So… what's the story with Ms. Ongaku?" Kurogasa asked.

"I'm sure that she told you that I left her?" Rika sighed.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well the reason I left was… well, I'm dating someone." She admitted. "And it's a boy."

"And… she didn't take that well." Erina summarized.

"Yeah, I mean… it was… one-sided. I didn't want to hurt her or anything but…" Rika said sadly.

"Wait, hold on, Ms. Ongaku was-" Kurogasa got out incredulously.

"Yes…"

"And she-"

"Yes…"

"So then-"

"Yes…" Rika blushed, looking away.

"Wow… never thought I'd see the day." Kurogasa blinked owlishly.

"Kuro! C'mon! I'm not like that!" Rika whined. "I just told you I'm dating a boy."

"Hai, hai…" Kurogasa waved off.

"By the way, what was Ms. Ongaku saying about twins coming to town?" Erina asked. Upon asking that question, the Ryusaki family frowned.

"Oh they are these business tycoons that appeared a few weeks ago and killing business around here." Ni said appearing behind Erina and Kurogasa, freaking the couple out. "That's another reason why Rika left me…"

"I'm trying to save the family restaurant! And how did you sneak back in here?!" Rika snapped comically.

"I'm hungry! No, seriously. I'm also in trouble if they continue with their campaign." The blue haired woman said looking at a menu. "I'll order three beef fried rice for me, Kurogasa, and Erina here."

"No!" Rika roared at her sensei.

"Anyways," Erina cleared her throat. "What are the names of these twins? If they are a business tycoon, I might know them."

"Rika-chan!" Ni cried once again ignoring Erina.

This caused the honey-colored haired girl to grab the teacher and shake her comically, "Stop ignoring me and speak!" The God's tongue cried as she scared Kurogasa and Rika's parents, while Rika just smiled kindly.

"You chose a good girlfriend." Rika said with a smile.

"Y-Yeah." Kurogasa stuttered."But seriously, who are these twins you keep talking about, Ms. Ongaku?"

"Ugh… so sick… gonna…" She started as Ni's cheeks swelled up.

"They're the Niijima Twins of the restaurant chain Niijima Ramen." Rinoka answered.

"Yeah, they seem to be also working for this one chicken lady at a station." Ni said regaining her composure. "What was her name again? Kinu Nakamozu?"

"Wait, Kinu Nakamozu? Of Karaage Specialty Shop Mozuya?" Erina raised an eyebrow.

"You know about them?" Kurogasa asked her girlfriend.

"The Mozuya is a franchise which specializes in selling only Karaage. Their headquarters are located here in Kyoto, but due to a great increase of popularity in recent times, branches of Mozuya have expanded to the whole Kansai region in Japan. They're also the first franchise in history to win the All-Japan Karaage Convention for three consecutive years."

"And Niijima Ramen is in cahoots with Mozuya?"

"Seems like it." Erina said.

"They've set up over a couple streets from here and been taking my customers over for the past few weeks and I'm losing more and more by the day." Ryuunosuke sighed. "If this keeps up, the Chowing Dragon will be gone and I'll be out of the business,"

"That serious, huh?" Kurogasa frowned seriously as he pondered in thought. "Well normally I'd say one of Shishou's quotes that 'Truly famous stores do not put out advertisements' but…" He trailed off feeling conflicted. "If it's that serious then-"

"You have to help us!" Rika pleaded, holding his shoulders, surprising him. "The restaurant is all we got and we're running out of options!"

"Rika…" Kurogasa murmured sadly.

"I mean you went to Tōtsuki to learn all that fancy cooking, right? Isn't there something you learned from there that could help us?" Rika asked.

"Uh well…" Kurogasa got out, feeling pressured before looking at his girlfriend, "Na-chan, help me out here."

"No, you got this." The girl said with a smirk.

"E-Eh?" Kurogasa blinked, before pouting and tried to think of something. "Well… I suppose we could visit the restaurant that's here and see what makes them so famous. Then we can figure out a counterattack."

"Boo…" Ni said as she sighed. "Well I guess it's better than nothing. We have no clue about what we're dealing with anyways."

"Then it's settled." Kurogasa said. "Let's go there now."

* * *

And so Kurogasa, Erina, Rika, and Ni went over to the next couple streets over and when they arrived, the four of them just looked at on. The restaurant itself was huge and was packed with a lot of customers. On the restaurant's exterior roof, there was a picture of a bowl of ramen with a rainbow coming of it.

"Figures that they would put a bowl of ramen at the end of a rainbow…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

"I feel… like someone is getting sued…" Rika said also deadpanning.

"How so?" Ni said with a comical question mark appearing over her head. Before Kurogasa could answer her question, he looked to the side to see another familiar person from his school, one that had purple and a familiar red cheongsam.

"Hojo? Is that you?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow, making the Chinese cuisine expert turn to him.

"Ohh Kurogasa." The chinese food expert said as she saw Erina and the two girls and sighed. "More girls to your harem?"

"What?! NO!" Kurogasa shouted comically. "I don't swing that way!"

"I do! I'm into girls!" Ni said proudly placing her hands on her hips.

"I have a boyfriend." Rika said raising her hand.

"Anyways, what brings you here, Miyoko-san?" Erina asked.

"I have come here to scope out the new enemies." Hojo said simply.

"Niijima Ramen being one of them?" Kurogasa asked.

"Naturally." Hojo responded.

"Same here." Kurogasa said. "Rika's family restaurant is going out of business and they're the cause of it." He added, pointing to the restaurant.

"Ouch." The girl said feeling pity for the girl. "In that case, allow me to help."

"You would?" Rika asked surprised.

"Of course. While I do love competition, I don't like those who try to snuff out Chinese cuisine thoroughly." Hojo said.

"The more the merrier." Kurogasa smirked. "Well then, shall we?"

With that, he and the girls went inside the restaurant and true to what they saw, they were absolutely packed, filled to the brim with customers. All the tables were taken, even the booths and the bars. Each customer had a bowl of ramen which looked really delicious. However…

"Man, the smell of the ramen is strong," Kurogasa commented, coughing a bit.

"But man is it good!" Ni sighed in deeply.

"Hello, welcome to Niijima Ramen!" Two female voices said. The group turned to see two identical females greeting them. They looked to be in their mid-20's, both with long red hair, but one has red eyes while the other has blue eyes and they wore matching uniforms consisting of white long-sleeved shirt and pants that looked like chinese martial art uniforms while wearing white shoes.

"And… you are?" Erina asked.

"Niijima Yuna." The red eyed woman said.

"Niijima Yuki." The blue eyed female said. She then noticed Rika. "Aw, if it isn't the Crying Dragon." She mocked.

"Gh…" Rika winced, clenching her fist, making Kurogasa notice.

"Hey, leave her alone," Kurogasa said. "It's rude to antagonize your customers, is it not?"

"You are dining?" Yuki said tilting her head.

"If you are, we apologize." Yuna bowed respectfully.

"More like… sampling." Kurogasa corrected.

"Ah, scouting the competition, I see." Yuna mused.

"I'm guessing the ramen the customers are eating now are a hot seller," Erina guessed. "What is it?"

"Tiger Ramen." The twins said sweetly.

"No way! You used actual tigers for your ramen?!" Ni freaked out, making some of the customers spit out their soups.

"No, our pet would hate us." Yuki showed a tiger cub walking in behind her. "It's just a name miss…?"

"Ni Ongaku!" She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "And your restaurant is ruining Rika's and _my_ business!"

"How?" Yuna started as her sister end it. "So?"

"Your putting my family restaurant out of business. It's the only thing my family has left!" Rika said. "If you keep this up, my family will have nothing!"

"Such is life, you have to understand that we're just doing what we love." The sisters said together as they glared at them. "So order or Mr. Fluffers will bite you."

While it was threat it wasn't intimidating as the cub just took a nap on the floor.

"Fine! I hope you enjoy ruining other people's livelihoods!" Rika shouted before running out of the restaurant.

"Rika!" Kurogasa called out but to no avail.

"I'll get her." Ni said, as she ran after Rika.

"I really hope you're happy with yourselves." Hojo frowned disapprovingly. "We'll just take those Tiger Ramens to go…"

"Hmph… fine," Yuki sniffed.

* * *

Back at the Chowing Dragon, after Rika had calmed down, She, Ni, Kurogasa, Erina, and Hojo stared at their bowl of Tiger Ramen that they just ordered. It consisted of noodles, pork, chicken, and beef, all soaked in the soup broth.

"So… this is the Tiger Ramen…" Kurogasa commented. "It has a strong smell for sure."

"Slurp!" Ni looked at them, being watched by everyone as she finished her soup. "What? I'm hungry. Crying for your love makes you hungry."

"So much for test tasting on _your_ end." Kurogasa sighed irritably. "C'mon, let's see what makes this ramen tastes so good." With that, they broke their chopsticks, swindled the noodles and slurped them into their mouths. Their reactions were almost instantaneous as their eyes widened in surprise and they dropped their chopsticks into the bowls. "What the-"

"The flavor profile is light despite the strong scent. It complements the heavy smell, actually the smell is making me more hungry." Hojo said.

"It's coming from the broth too." Kurogasa said. "The secret's in the soup itself. I just can't figure it out. What do you think, Erina?" He asked.

"It has enough to be a restaurant meal, but isn't that great." Erina said. "While it's good, the broth is too good for the noodles."

"You're saying the broth is overpowering the noodles?" Kurogasa asked.

"Yes the noodles are probably easy to make compared to the broth, but someone such as I can tell the subtle difference. That's probably a good thing to know."

"Which means, that in order to counter their ramen, we have to balance ours just right." Kurogasa said. "Okay, here's what we'll do. We're gonna to go to the convenience store and get as much as ingredients as we can for experimentation."

"Are you insane, I'm not tasting anything that isn't high class." Erina said her piece.

…

…

…

"…I'll give you five slices of my cake." Kurogasa said, trying to bribe her.

"Hmm…" Erina stern look slightly fell as she looked almost ready to crumble.

"Okay, how about two whole cakes? I'll even add tiers to it."

"Why do you have to cheat…?" Erina cried.

"C'mon Na-chan, my best friend's restaurant is on the line!"

"Oh fine…" Erina gave in as she pouted. "I also want…" She quickly leaned in to whisper into Kurogasa ears as he blushed.

"R-Really?" He asked.

"Why do I have the feeling that you guys are going to do something you're going to regret?" Rika deadpanned at them.

"I-I asked if I can make him buy me a Rider Belt!" Erina blushed deeply.

"Oh no, there's two of him." Rika said horrified, "My worst nightmare has come to fruition…"

"I thought your worst nightmare was you, me, and Kurogasa doing the dirty- GAK!" Ni cried as Rika neck chopped her neck. "Can't- ugh… breathe!"

"Rika…? Did she say-" Kurogasa blinked.

"Nothing… at… all…"

"…Double…" Erina pouted.

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked.

"I want the Double Driver." Erina said. "Complete Selection Modification."

"Hehhhhhh… alright, alright, deal." Kurogasa said. "Okay, let's get some ingredients."

* * *

And so Kurogasa, Erina, Rika, Ni, and Hojo went to the store and bought any and all ingredients that can be in ramen, especially the noodles. Once Kurogasa paid for the ingredients, the store was closed and everyone gathered at a table to discuss their plan of attack and they had a white board with them.

"Okay, so let's learn the basics." Kurogasa said. "As we know, the Tiger Ramen's secret lies in their broth."

"I can't exactly recall all of the ingredients, but I do know it's all top class." Erina explained.

"Yes. But anyways, there are 4 primary types of Ramen soup flavors: Shio, Shoyu, Miso and Tonkotsu." Kurogasa said. "Shio is traditionally the way ramen soup is flavored. The salt doesn't affect the appearance of the broth and therefore Shio soup tends to be light coloured and clear and a tad saltier than the other types. Shoyu or soy sauce and this is next oldest flavor type. Instead of salt, a sauce made by fermenting soya beans is used to make the broth salty. It's not your regular table soy sauce, but typically a special sauce with additional ingredients made according to a secret recipe. The broth for Shoyu is the only type that tends not to contain pork. It's usually clear, but is dark coloured and sweeter than Shio soup."

"Then there's Miso. Miso paste has also been used to give Ramen broth its savoury taste. If used, obviously the soup will be opaque. Shio or Shoyu flavored soups merely accent the flavour of underlying broth, while miso leaves a fuller complex taste in the mouth since it also has a strong taste of its own. And the last is Tonkotsu. It's technically not a true flavor since it is contains either salt or soy sauce. It's made from boiling ground up pork bones for 12-15 hours till all the collagen has dissolved into the stock as gelatine. The result is a rich whitish soup that is distinct enough to consider Tonkotsu as a separate fourth flavor of Ramen."

"I say it's classified as either Tonkotsu or Shoyu." Ni said as she looked at the remaining soups. "It has that darker look."

"I agree. It did have the sort of meaty flavor in the soup." Hojo pondered in thought.

"So then we'll have to experiment with these four types of soups and the ingredients we have until we find the right combination to balance the flavor and compliment each other." Kurogasa said.

"…Good luck with that." Ni said trying to leave.

"Oh no you don't!" Kurogasa said, holding the back of her collared shirt. "You're helping out. Or I'll ask Rika to call one of your sisters and have them burn your manga."

"Do it, I have copies!" Ni said with a smirk.

"All of it. Even your copies and secret stash."

"I have online accounts."

"Okay, I'll have San delete all of them."

"Why?! It's not like Rika is coming back to me." Ni whined as she dropped to the floor.

"What part of 'I'm dating a boy' don't you understand?!" Rika snapped comically.

"Aww…" Ni twitched as she felt her heart stabbed.

And so with that, and Ni's heavy heart, they all decided to make ramen with the four types and many ingredient combinations. Erina of course tried to be the boss of everyone of how the ingredients should be handled and how the soup should be made, but Kurogasa kept her in check. They also tasted the ramens as well. Some were just outright horrible… in Erina's opinion while others while good, it lacked something and they couldn't figure it out. They continued to experiment into the night before they were exhausted. Rika and Ni fell asleep in food comas due to eating so much ramen while Hojo, Erina, and Kurogasa were sitting at a table with their heads down.

"Nothing…" Kurogasa sighed tiredly.

"And we used up most of the ingredients too." Hojo said.

"Urp… so bad…" Erina cried.

"We'll have to come up with something tomorrow after the business hours are done." Kurogasa said again before pulling a laptop from his backpack.

"What are you doing?" Hojo asked.

"I'm calling Soma on video chat." Kurogasa answered. "We used to do this back in the day," He added as he typed on his keyboard and they heard ringing on the laptop. A few seconds later, Soma appeared on the screen.

[ _"Oh hey, Kuro. I was wondering who was calling,"_ ] Soma greeted with a grin. [ _"Been awhile since we've done this."_ ]

"Hey, Soma." Kurogasa said. "What's- eh? Is that Mito in the background? And… Mayumi-chan?" He raised an eyebrow.

[ _"Oh yeah, long story. Oi, Nikumi, Kurase! Over here, Kuro's online!"_ ]

[ _"I told you not to call me Nikumi!"_ ] Mito snapped as she went up to the screen. [ _"Huh? Oh, hey Kurogasa. Long time no see. And… Erina-sama?"_ ]

"Hey Mito." Erina waved tiredly.

[ _"Ah. Kurogasa-san! It's been a while!"_ ] Mayumi smiled. Mayumi Kurase is a childhood of Soma since kindergarten. She has short brown colored hair, a small bust and a slim body figure. Her bangs curve inwards and cover part of her cheeks. Her eyes are light brown in color. Her attire was a simple blouse with skirt.

"Same here." Kurogasa smiled a bit.

[ _"Oh hey there, Nakiri! And… purple-haired girl I don't know."_ ] Soma grinned.

"Miyoko Hojo." She said.

[ _"Oh, right! The one where you lost to Kuro in that Sushi Battle."_ ] Soma remembered making Hojo's eye twitch.

"Y-Yes…"

"Ahhhh! Why are you such a parasite, Yukihira-kun?!" Erina snapped.

[ _"What's with her?"_ ] Soma asked confused.

"Bad taste testing. Enough said." Kurogasa answered. "So what's going on over there?"

[ _"We're having a battle with a chicken tycoon."_ ] The red haired teen smiled.

"A chicken tycoon?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow. "Who are you talking about?"

[ _"Long story short, I have to save my street district before this crazy lady wins."_ ]

"Wait, what? The Sumire Shopping District is in trouble? What's happening over there?" He asked incredulously.

[ _"Well the train station over there got renovated and there's a new restaurant that sells take-home Karaage."_ ] Mito explained, as Kurogasa and Hojo's eyes widened while Erina lifted her head up.

"Are you talking about Mozuya?" Kurogasa asked, trying to confirm.

[ _"Yeah her… probably."_ ] Soma said, trying to think.

"What do you mean probably?!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

[ _"Anyways, how do you know about that?"_ ]

"Long story short, my friend's restaurant is about to go out of business thanks to Niijima Ramen who are in cahoots with Mozuya." Kurogasa said, shocking Soma, Mito, and Mayumi.

[ _"A-Are you serious?"_ ] Mayumi stuttered.

"As clear as day." Kurogasa said seriously. "Looks like we got ourselves a common enemy, Soma."

[ _"So what do you suggest?"_ ] Soma asked.

"We team up."

"What?!" Erina snapped. "You want me to team up with him?!"

"We're out of options, Erina." Kurogasa said. "The shopping district is in trouble and Rika's restaurant is about to go bankrupt. And with these tycoons in cahoots with each other, it's only fair that we team up too."

"Ooo~oh hell no!" Erina yelled at Kurogasa with a glare.

…

…

…

…

"I'll make you five cakes with three tiers. I'll even add the Gamer Driver and all the Gashats to boot."

"Still no!"

"Fine, then I'll tell Ali-chan about the one time you-"

"You wouldn't!" Erina said shocked at the underhanded tactic.

"Oh I would." Kurogasa grinned. "And she'll most likely tell it to all her friends and _they'll_ tell it to _their_ friends and-"

"Okay, okay you made your point." Erina grumbled. "I'll… team up with Yukihira."

"Good." He smiled.

[ _"Wow. Someone's whipped."_ ] Soma grinned.

"You shut up, Yukihira!" Erina snapped.

And so for the next two days, the two teams worked together on their karaage and ramen situations. It was long, arduous, and tiring, but in the end, the two teams managed to get on the same page and were able to figure out what kind of dishes they were to make. On Soma's team, they were going to make a karaage using a special marinade based on soy sauce and chili peppers after the large pieces of thigh meat soak. Then they would coat it in the katakuri scratch and fry them and after cooking it thoroughly, they fried it a second time to crisp up the surface. Then they would put it in a special wrap along with herbs and leaf lettuce. And they would add a dash of flavor with a chili sauce that contains fish sauce, and a round of black pepper. It would be called the Sumire Mark Karaage Roll, a roll based on Bánh Xèo, a Vietnamese dish.

As for Kurogasa's team, they were to make a vegetable soup that is also of Vietnamese origin. Since the Tiger Ramen was all meat, the only way to counter that is with vegetables. The types of noodles they will use is rice noodles, their broth will vegeterian based that will have a hint of sweetness to it. And to the top it off, it will be served with the freshest seasonal vegetables using bok choy, shredded carrots, napa cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, and fried tofu. It will be called Pho Chay.

"Alright, this noodle soup is ready to go." Kurogasa grinned to himself.

"It is a step up on the soup the twins have." Erina said confidently.

"It doesn't have a strong smell as theirs." Hojo smirked.

"That is a good point." Ni said kindly, "And with the way we made them from such cheap stuff, it's not only delicious but affordable meaning you can even sell this cheap and it won't hurt your profits." The blue haired woman said for once serious in the situation.

"Now we just have to sell it." Rika said. "It's not gonna be easy though…" She slumped.

"Shishou ga iteita: Truly famous stores do not put out advertisements." Kurogasa quoted.

"Well we kinda need it now!" Rika snapped comically.

"Gah…" Ni said as everyone looked at her in fetal position. "Evil… Tendou…"

"He is not!" Kurogasa huffed.

"Manga… burn…" Ni said as she continued to rock back and forth. "Signed… Limited Edition… gone…" Everyone could only sweat drop at her reaction. "Yuri…"

"Too much information!" Erina exclaimed.

"Okay… give me a moment." Kurogasa sighed as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Hey Shishou. It's me. Yeah, I kinda have a problem." He said, before he explained the situation. "I know you said that truly famous restaurants don't put out advertisements, but Rika's restaurant is about to go dead." He said. "What? Do I have to invite them?" Kurogasa's voice said with a tired tone. "Fine! Twist my arm, why don't you!?" With that, he slammed his cell phone shut. "Shishou…" He grumbled.

"What is it?" Erina asked confused.

"Well… I think we got ourselves some advertisers… kind of." Kurogasa sweat dropped. "Na-chan. Whatever happens, under no circumstances, are you to scream like a fan girl when they arrive."

"Huh?" She asked, now _really_ confused.

* * *

Three days later…

"Yuna! What's happening to our sales?!" Yuki exclaimed. "They dropped by 30%!"

"Don't know…" Yuna said as she tried to feed their baby tiger who still took a nap. "Do baby tigers sleep all day or is it just him?"

"Now's not the time to worry about that!" Yuki said. "Remember _he_ promised to expand our brand if we keep up with these profits, but they're going down hill!"

"So? I hate that yankee," Yuna said as the Tiger was now on her head sleeping. "I thought we weren't going to use him anymore."

"We owe him! We've come this far and I'm not going back down!" Yuki said.

"Hey, did you hear? The Chowing Dragon has a new soup!" One customer said, perking the twins' ears.

"I hear it's really good."

"Yeah, it's especially popular amongst those who aren't into meat."

Yuna looked at her sister's aura of fiery hate as she took off the tiger from her head and placed it on her twins head, "Better?" She asked watching the flame slowly dying out. But a few seconds later, her fiery aura exploded, causing the tiger to comically fly up and back into Yuna's hands who just blinked. "What about cuddling him?" She said presenting him like a stuff toy.

Yuki didn't say anything as she darted out of the restaurant. "Sis, wait up!" She said, running after her with the tiger in tow.

The Niijima Twins continued to run until they finally arrived at the Chowing Dragon and the place was even more packed than Niijima's ramen. It was so packed that a huge line was formed that went back as far as three blocks of the street. Yuki furiously stomped her way into the restaurant with Yuna behind her and they saw the customers being happy and content with the soup they're eating.

"Three more orders of Pho Chay, Kuro!" Rika called out.

"Hai yo!" Kurogasa grinned. "Na-chan, Hojo, you ready?"

"Gotcha!" She said with a smile as she moved around elegantly as some boys and even girls whistled and did catcalls to her.

"Soup's on!" Hojo smirked as she poured the soup into the bowl. Erina then elegantly placed the rice noodles into bowl. Then Kurogasa added the toppings that were already boiled to perfection and was ready to serve it.

"Clock up!" He said, before he dashed around the restaurants, serving the Vietnamese soups to the customers. "Thanks for waiting! Enjoy!"

"Thanks for the meal!" A young adult wearing a fedora hat said as he greedily ate the soup. "Ah… the flavor is robust… perfect for a hard-boiled guy like me…" He said with a odd tone of voice, almost like he's narrating himself.

"How thrilling… the flavors are simple yet feel complex." Another young adult said slowly eating his noodles. "Very different than our city's ramen…"

"What the…" Yuki got out.

"Wow. They sure skyrocketed." Yuna blinked as her tiger roared cutely.

"Hm? Hey Ni, cover for me!" Kurogasa said, before going off.

"Okay don't take too long!" Ni called out.

"Well well, look who decided to show up." Kurogasa smirked at the Niijima Twins.

"Hi." Yuna said as the Tiger went back to sleep. "Ohh…" She said sadden that her feline was now tired.

"W-What is all this?" Yuki demanded.

"For you… payback." Kurogasa muttered darkly. "Shishou ga iteita: There are two things that a man must not do. One is to make a girl cry, the other is handling food so crudely. You may be not a man, but you made one of my best friends cry because you're trying to snuff out her business. And your Tiger Ramen? Well… let's just say you handle your soup very crudely."

"What?!" Yuki snapped.

"You heard me." Kurogasa said, before he presented a bowl to her. "It's time that you paid the price. Walk the Path of Heaven!"

"…Where is it?" Yuna said looking around as she started to walk around the restaurant. "I can't find it…"

Kurogasa fought the urge to facepalm as Yuki glared down at the ramen.

"I still can't find i~t!"

"Shut up, Yuna!" Yuki shouted before she relented in taking the bowl and eating the noodles using the chopsticks. Her eyes widened at the taste, "Urg…" She growled as she clenched her fists. "It's not fair… I spent nearly all my life… and this is better than mine?"

"Sis?" Yuna said walking back to her older twin sister. "It's okay… we can do better next time…"

"No it's not! I've dedicated my life to my restaurant, to my ramen, and this… ramen reject is better?!"

"It's not ramen. It's noodle soup." Kurogasa corrected. "While yours was delicious, your soup overpowered the noodles

"That's cheating!" She roared, "You didn't beat me in my area!" Yuki slammed her fist on to the table breaking it apart.

"Maybe not, but at least I saved my friend's livelihood from being destroyed." Kurogasa said. "Now you've seen what happens when you mess with my friends, and to quote Rika's family saying, 'You mess with a dragon, you're gonna get burned'. Welcome to Paradise."

"I did it so my sister and I can be happy! I've lived in poor areas and I worked my soul to get where I am! THIS ISN'T FAIR!" She screamed as she pulled out a…

"No way…" Kurogasa said shocked and slightly scared on what she held. It was a Gaia Memory!

"Is that…" Erina gasped.

 **TIGER!**

Yuki inserted the Gaia Memory into her neck and it sank into her body allowing her to transform into a Tiger Dopant. The patrons of the restaurant saw this and screamed in terror, running out of the restaurant.

"Wow… best birthday present I bought her…" Yuna said looking at her sister closely. "What kind of cosplay is this?" She said as her baby tiger wiggled from her grasp and hid behind Kurogasa trembling at the Dopant. "Sis? What's wrong?" She said not noticing her sister was raising her arm at her. "Sis?" She said a bit more timidly as the arm came down towards her!

"Look out!" Kurogasa shouted as he moved Yuna out of the way, before the Tiger Dopant could hurt her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah…" Yuna nodded shakily.

"Mattaku… one day… I just want _one_ day without any Dopants showing up during our vacation and this is what happens!"

"Odd, how a Gaia Memory came all the way to this dimension…" The two young adults then walked forward. "Good thing Tendou told us to come, this is our area of expertise."

"Well it can't be helped…" The fedora hat man sighed irritably before he took out a familiar item and attached it to his waist before the same item appeared around the other man's waist.

"I'm counting on ya, Shotaro! Philip!" Kurogasa said before getting Yuna to safety.

"Hai, hai…" Shotaro sighed. "Ikuze, aibou."

"Aa…"

"Is this way to the Path of Heaven?" Yuna said as her Tiger was on her head again. Meanwhile, Shotaro and Phillip took out their respective Gaia Memories.

 **CYCLONE!**

 **JOKER!**

The two of them positioned their arms with the Gaia Memories away from each other, making a W shape before saying "Henshin!" Phillip inserted his Cyclone Memory into the Driver and it transported to Shotaro's Double Driver before he slotted that and the Joker Memory. He then spread the Driver apart.

 **CYCLONE-JOKER!**

The technical guitar and orchestral hit played together as digital lines formed on Shotaro's face before the wind picked up and bits and pieces of his armor formed and merged together to become… Kamen Rider Double!

"No way!" Rika gawked.

Erina's eye violently twitched to the point it was almost comical before she fainted.

*THUD~!*

"Erina?!" Kurogasa panicked.

"…" Erina didn't say anything but had a goofy smile on her face.

"Saa…" Double said as he did his iconic pose. "Omae no tsumi o kazoero!"

The Tiger dopant just rushed towards the Kamen Rider as he or rather they jumped over it, "Jeez, this is why I hate women Dopant, they are more crazy than the guys." Shotaro's voice echoed.

 _"It can't be helped, Shotaro."_ Phillip said, the right lens flashing. _"We've faced worse women Dopant than this one."_

"Fine, but let's not waste any time on this one," Shotaro said as he pulled out grey colored Gaia Memory.

 **METAL!**

He switched out the Joker Memory with the Metal Memory.

 **CYCLONE-METAL!**

The black half changed to grey and the Metal Shaft appeared behind his back before taking it off from said back and it extended. Double swung at the Tiger Dopant with the Metal Shaft and was sent flying through the window, breaking it before Double and the Tiger Dopant were outside with bystanders looking on in shock.

"Let's end this!" Shotaro said, "I need my vacation from the little demon!"

*WHACK~!*

"Ow!" Shotaro said as he saw a green slipper on the floor. "How the-?"

"How dare you still call me that!?"

"A-Akiko-san?" Kurogasa tilted his head.

"Oh hey, Kuro-kun. Finish this now! We have a lot of missing pets to find!"

"But we're on vacation!" Shotaro complained. "And why are you here? Aren't you on a wedding anniversary trip with Terui?!"

"That's been done since Drive!" She yelled.

 _"Mou ii darou, let's just finish up, Shotaro."_ Phillip said.

"Fine." Shotaro grumbled.

 **JOKER!**

 **CYCLONE-JOKER!**

After going into his default form, he took out the Joker Memory and slotted it in the Maximum Drive Slot.

 **JOKER! MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

The wind blew around them as Double went up before they split in half and came down on the Tiger Dopant. _**"Joker Extreme!"**_ They shouted in unison before their kicks landed on the Dopant, who roared in pain before-

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

The Dopant exploded and Yuki dropped to the ground, with the Tiger Gaia Memory in pieces. The onlookers cheered after the Kamen Rider beat the monster.

"Gah…!" Yuki cried as she cried while reaching the shattered Memory. "I need… power… I don't want… Yuna to live on the streets again…"

"There are better ways to do that than getting Gaia Memories." Shotaro sighed as he took out his own and went back to civilian form. "I better make a call. We're gonna have a long talk over at the local station."

"Wait wait wait!" Kurogasa yelled, "You're going to arrest her?"

"She had a Gaia Memory. All of them should've been gone, and yet she got her hands on one."

"That doesn't mean you have to arrest her. She's only doing this for her sister." Kurogasa said. "Let her do community service or something, but don't have her get thrown to jail."

"Sis?" Yuna said striding outside again, "Oh you're better… are you okay?" She said sweetly sitting next to her twin. "Oh…" She saw Shotaro and waved. "Hi…"

"Hehhhhhhhh… I'll see what I can do. No promises." Shotaro sighed.

* * *

And so after cleaning up the Chowing Dragon, Shotaro decided that she will do community service for six months, being a waitress at the Chowing Dragon along with Yuna. It was now late at night and Kurogasa, Erina, Hojo, Rika, Ni, and the Ryusaki parents all celebrated with a feast.

"KANPAI!" They cheered, clinking their glasses together.

"Whew, another round!" Ni cheered.

"I don't like you all…" Yuki said as she gave them drinks.

"I like it." Yuna said wearing a maid outfit.

"Just be glad you're not thrown in jail." Kurogasa reminded, making Yuki flinch.

"Ara, I was wondering what's taking you so long." A familiar voice said. They all turned to see Yukina come in, along with another person in tow. It was Yukina's husband, Kyoshiro who was spitting image of his son, albeit older.

"Dad, you're back!" Kurogasa said surprised.

"Heya son!" Kyoshiro waved back. "Mind if we join the party?" He asked, before looking at Erina. "Oh heya, Erina! Long time no see!"

"H-Hello!" Erina squeaked out.

"Whew, who would've thought you'd turn into such a beauty? And you're my son's girlfriend, no less!" He laughed.

"D-Dad…" Kurogasa muttered with a blush as did Erina.

"Ah no need to be shy son! I'm happy you two are together!" Kyoshiro grinned. "Just don't do anything funny before you two get married."

"DAD!" Kurogasa snapped with a heavy blush with Erina doing the same.

"Hahaha… well it's time for us to be on our way." Shotaro said as he stood up his two companions.

"You're leaving already?" Hojo asked.

"But you just got here." Kurogasa said.

"We've been here for a week actually." Phillip explained as he smiled. "Still it was fun. We have to get back to Fuuto City." He then pulled out a huge box and gave it to Erina. "Here. A present."

"Awawawawaawa!" She gasped out as she held the Driver. "I-It's the Double Driver! Complete Selection Modification!"

"When did you get that?" Kurogasa asked incredulously.

"While you guys were cleaning up the place." Shotaro said with a shrug. "It was on sale."

"Oh no. My nightmare has definitely come true…" Rika paled.

"Well no use having all this food go to waste, let's party!" Kyoshiro cheered.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Tch… so the Niijima Twins have failed." A yankee boy scoffed angrily as he closed his cell phone. He was definitely not happy. First Mozuya had failed to rake in the profits, and Niijima Ramen was next to fall. He had seen the sales chart showing that the sales of Mozuya and Niijima Ramen had been plummeting for three days in a row. Not to mention that they fell at the same time. This prompted him to cut ties with these two companies.

However, it was rather curious as to _how_ they fell in such a short time. As for Mozuya, she had told him about a red-haired boy that owned a diner at the Sumire Shopping District. For Niijima Ramen, he had gotten his information from Yuki herself and it was thanks to a brown-haired boy that talked about walking the Path of Heaven. So the yankee dug a little deeper into the two boys and after a while of typing on his laptop, he found the information he was looking for.

"Soma Yukihira and Kurogasa Kururugi…" He scoffed before smirking, "This should be rather interesting."

* * *

 **Fen:** And that's it! Another chapter down! And yes, you weren't seeing things! Shotaro and Philip made their appearance as Kamen Rider Double!

 **AQ:** How the blood soak hell did they get there in the first place?

 **Fen:** Well Philip _did_ mention something about dimensions…

 **AQ:** What, they ask Tsukasa or Narutaki for dimensional hopping? That's weird…

 **Fen:** …Didn't you say that you see the Shokugeki world as-

 **AQ:** Stop! Ex-Aid, Eternal, W! Take him off the studio!

 **Fen:** Nononono, waitwaitwait!

 **ETERNAL/JOKER! MAXIMUM DRIVE!**

 **GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA! MIGHTY CRITICAL~ STRIKE!**

 ***Fen sent flying thanks to their Rider Kicks***

 **Fen:** YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHOOHOOHOOHOOEY!

 **AQ:** That's Gremlin's thing! Good night/day/afternoon/morning people, have a nice wheeee~!


	12. Dish 12

**Fen:** Hello everyone! Fen and Queen finally here for another chapter of Food Wars!

 **AQ:** Yay… ow…

 **Fen:** Uh… you okay? o_O

 **AQ:** Dude, I'm still in pain from my effing kickboxing class with King.

 **Fen:** Yikes… I can't imagine the pain you're in.

 **AQ:** Yeah you don't…

 **Fen:** W-Well anyways, let's try and get this chapter out, shall we? ^^;

 **AQ:** Sure.

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

Summer vacation for Soma and Kurogasa had gone by pretty quick, especially for the latter. Kurogasa used his entire summer vacation to spend time with Erina to the fullest. She couldn't be any happier than she is now. After all, ten years being separated from each other can be difficult for people like those two. And they even had fun with cooking, especially during the first few days of their vacation when they teamed up Hojo, Rika, Ni, and Soma's team on taking down Mozuya and Niijima Ramen thanks to the Sumire Mark Karaage Roll and the Pho Chay. As of now, Soma and Kurogasa were walking together on their way back to the Polar Star Dorm.

"Phew… can't believe vacation went by that fast." Soma sighed.

"I'll say." Kurogasa agreed. "I definitely milked out the entire summer vacation for all of its worth."

Just then, a group of boys approached them and… they were surrounded. "What the- who are you guys?" Soma asked.

"They're trouble, that's what." Kurogasa frowned as he got into a defensive stance. That's when one of the school thugs came up to them.

"Soma Yukihira and Kurogasa Kururugi. You're to come with us. Our boss wants to speak with you."

* * *

Seeing as there was no way out of it, the boys were led by them until they arrived at a huge tall building. After going up the elevator to the top floor, they arrived at two large doors that opened up, and inside was an office. And in that office was a man. He was about the same age as Kurogasa, if not a year older, having long, swept-back dirty blonde hair typical of a yankee. He wears glasses and various jewelry, consisting of a rope chain necklace, various rings, and a Rolex-style watch, while wearing glasses and he has a leopard print shirt with a white jacket over it, and he also wears blue jeans and black shoes.

"There you are." The man said as Soma and Kurogasa walked in and the doors closed behind them.

"Who are you?" Soma asked.

"The Sumire Mark Karaage Roll and Pho Chay wasn't a bad idea." The yankee said.

"How do you-" Kurogasa got out, before he realized and frowned. "I see. So _you're_ the one behind Mozuya and Niijima Ramen." Kurogasa frowned.

"Exactly. And not just Mozuya and Niijima Ramen. Since then, I have lent my consulting services to over 500 businesses in the food industry and I led them to success." The yankee continued. "However, thanks to you two resurrecting the shopping district and the Chowing Dragon, my plan was ruined."

"Shishou ga iteita: A truly famous store does not put out advertisements." Kurogasa quoted.

"So you're gonna beat us up, is _that_ it?" Soma asked.

"No." The yankee said. "I want you two to work for me. I'll make sure you never go hungry again."

"Kotowaru." Kurogasa denied. " After what you almost did, you really think I'm going to work for someone like _you_?"

"Yeah, same here, I'm going to inherit my dad's diner. So no." Soma said.

"Hmph. I figured you two wouldn't take my offer." The yankee scoffed with a smirk. "You're just like the rest. You're satisfied with everything, trapped in your own little world, so long as you pretend to be professional."

"My cooking is not a lie." Kurogasa countered. "I show nothing but honesty and truth on the dishes I make."

"You're a bit of mystery Kurogasa… you don't have a culinary background unlike Yukihira… but yet you're able to play with the big boys. Who's your teacher?" The yankee asked as Kurogasa glared at him.

"I'm not telling you. Even if I did, you would know your place." The aspiring chef talked back to the yankee.

"Hmph… aren't _you_ an arrogant one." The yankee smirked.

"You're one to talk." Kurogasa scoffed back.

"Yeah, aren't you a chef too?"

"No. I'm a businessman." The yankee answered. "I'm one whom all the chefs obey. I have my sights set an entirely different stage than you."

 _'The one whom all chefs obey?'_ Kurogasa repeated in his mind before shaking his head lightly, _'That's Na-chan's area, at least she has the knowledge and the ability to back it up, instead of playing with money.'_

"Soma Yukihira and Kurogasa Kururugi… allow me to inform you that you two have been selected for the Autumn Elections, but don't rejoice just yet." He said as he got up from his seat and walked towards them. "The Elections will mark the end of your upstart trajectory. I'll make both of you pay for staining my career, crushing you two on the best stage possible." He added taking off his glasses. "This is what others call me: The Alquimista."

 _'Alquimista…? Wait… does he mean Alchemist?'_ The rice expert thought to himself with a raised eyebrow.

"Tōtsuki Jyukketsu…"

 **遠月十傑**  
Tōtsuki Elite Ten Council

 ***CLAP, CLAP!***

"Dai Kyuuseki… Eizan Etsuya…"

 **第九席** **:** **叡山 枝津也**  
Number 9: Eizan Etsuya

 ***GONG!***

"Tch… great…" Kurogasa gritted at the fact he is meeting the one who surpassed Erina in terms of rank.

"Yes, I am superior to Erina." Eizan said as if reading the mind of the younger boy. "In fact, I can defeat many of the others should I want to."

"Wanna put your money where your mouth is?" Kurogasa retorted.

"Actually that should be saved for later." A familiar voice said coming into the room with Erina in tow.

"Isshiki-senpai." Soma recognized.

"Tch… what do _you_ want?" Eizan asked.

"Hello Eizan-kun, trying to recruit my two friends into your little plot?" The Seventh seat said with a happy look before making his eyes turn serious, "I hope you weren't going to do a Shokugeki with your _own_ rules… were you?"

"Hmph, I don't know what you're talking about." Eizan scoffed. "Besides, I don't need any help defeating him."

"Kisama!" Erina started, but her words were cut off by Isshiki's arm.

"That's good, because right now, I need to bring Kurogasa-kun and Soma-kun back to the dorm to celebrate their spots in the Autumn Elections." Isshiki nodded with a kind smile easing the mood back to normal.

"Fine then, go…" Eizan said, before turning to the Rice specialist. "Remember Kurogasa, if you want to go against me, my door is open whenever you want." He said fixing his glasses looking at the boy with superior smug look. Kurogasa glared at him one last time before turning around to leave with the others following.

"Phew…" Kurogasa sighed, leaning against the wall.

"Ha, and you say _I_ talk too much!" Soma teased the fellow chef before Erina bopped his head. "OW!"

"Speak for yourself!" Erina snapped before looking at Kurogasa concerned. "Are you alright?"

"More or less." He shrugged with a small smile.

"Kurogasa-kun…" Isshiki started with a rare frown, "Don't go against him yet. He pays off his battles. Never once did he cook a dish in his Shokugekis and always won."

"You mean he bribes the judges?" Kurogasa asked incredulously.

"Yes," Erina sighed, "I tried to get Ojii-sama to stop it, but unfortunately Eizan barely battles anyone so it isn't that big of an issue."

"Great… corruption in the Elite Ten…" Kurogasa sighed. "This just keeps getting better and better doesn't it…"

 _'If only you knew…'_ Isshiki thought sadly, knowing about most of the other Elite Ten's true allegiance.

* * *

 **(Cue Rough Diamonds by SCREEN MODE)**

 **(Instrumental)** The first three beats of the instrumental show Soma and Kurogasa in poses before the song starts picking up at the fast pace. The two boys glowed golden surrounded by fire as various pieces of food flew upwards before the flames covered the screen, changing to a scene of the 92nd Generation Prodigies in silhouettes, walking towards the camera as the title card appeared for a moment before the flames overwhelmed the screen and changed scenery.

 **(Omoi egaiteru IMEEJI yori haruka~ mukou~ gawa e~)** The scene shows various screen shots of Soma, Joichiro, Erina, Megumi, Alice, Ryo, Marui, Shun, Yuki, and Ryoko all looking at the camera with various experessions on their faces.  
 **(Tsukuri agete yuku shinjitsu wa mada tooku~ hatena~i tabiji~)** The next scene then showed various screenshots of Takumi, Isami, Hisako, Mito, Akira, Jun, Isshiki, Eizan, Shiki, Beatrix, Tendou, and Kurogasa all doing the same thing as the first batch.

 **(Tagai no PURAIDO wo togi sumaseyou ze)** The next scene then changed to show various characters in the form of alumni, teachers, other support characters, and the headmaster of Tōtsuki Academy.  
 **(Kotoba nante kazari wa hadakesaserya ii)** The scene then changes to four women alumni of Tōtsuki Academy before changing to Erina who looks to the sky with a look of content on her face.

 **(Butsukariai, migakareteiku~ Rolling Stone~)** On each beat of the music, we see various scenes of the cast and the various events that happened during their time at the Academy before it switched to Soma and Kurogasa who had their backs towards each other surrounded by various chef students ready to take them down, but they smirked at each other before they charged at them ready to take the challenge.

 **(Deai wa SHOCKWAVE! SHOCKWAVE! Mada shiranai sekai e~)** The next scene then shows various students standing on top of floating kitchen knives in the sky, that were all pointed towards the sun.  
 **(Aruki hajimeta, mubou na chousensha sa)** Soma, Megumi, Shun, Ryoko, Marui, and Yuki stood on their kitchen knives on one side while Ryo, Takumi, Alice, Hisako, Shiki, and Beatrix were opposite of them and the two lines of knives clashed and parried against each other,  
 **(Te ni shita yaiba de ashita wo kirihirakeba iin darou?)** Akira stood on top of a large cinnamon stick and waved his hand forward and golden beams of light shot of the cinnamon sticks striking the other kitchen knives down.  
 **(Dareka no mono ja nai… jibun dake no STORY)** But Soma's and Ryo's survive as they flew towards Akira's cinnamon stick and clashed. Soma, Ryo, and Akira then noticed one more kitchen knife floating in the sky, showing Kurogasa standing on it with Erina looking on at him.

 **(Cause we're still ROUGH DIAMONDS on the ro~ad!)** Kurogasa then jumped off doing a corkscrew flip then pivoted his body to dive down for a flying kick. As he dived down, a faint image of a certain red-armored beetle warrior overlaps him as he kicks the screen causing it to turn white and the screen shattered into pieces revealing a group shot of silhouetted members of the Elite Ten with a dark figure towering over them with a sinister smile before the scene changed to a group shot of the 92nd Generation Prodigies to end the song.

* * *

 **Dish 12:** Kolivartha and Goan Fish Curry

The next day had arrived and there was a commotion going in the main courtyard of the school. All of the students were gathered around a huge announcement board that was covered up by a huge white cloth.

"Hurry up!" One student shouted as some of them were running towards the board.

"They finally put up the results!" Another added.

All of them waited with anticipation, seeing as to who made it in the Autumn Elections. This was their big opportunity to show their skills to the big wigs of the food industry. Not a moment too soon, the cloth was pulled down and there were the names of the contestants competing in the Autumn Elections. Some of them cheered while others bemoaned that they didn't make it. There were two boards that were covered however. One for Group A and the other for Group B. There were thirty names on each group and it was obvious as to who made it.

 **Group A**

Soma Yukihira  
Kurogasa Kururugi  
Shun Ibusaki  
Ryoko Sakaki  
Marui Zenji  
Mito Ikumi  
Ryō Kurokiba  
Akira Hayama  
Shiki Kishi

 **Group B**

Alice Nakiri  
Hisako Arato  
Takumi Aldini  
Isami Aldini  
Megumi Tadokoro  
Miyoko Hōjō  
Nao Sadatsuka  
Yūki Yoshino  
Beatrix Altair

"So these are the contestants for the Autumn Elections." Shun said.

"We did i~t!" Yuki cried out, suddenly hugging Ryoko, crying comical anime tears.

"Yuki, calm down!" Ryoko said, pushing her away.

"Ahhhhh…" Megumi paled, shaking terribly. She totally felt out of place. She was in the Autumn Elections? Someone as timid as her is in this huge competition?

"Hey~!" Soma's voice called out as he and Kurogasa arrived.

"You guys made it?" Kurogasa smiled.

"Damn I thought our last battle will kick me out of this." Shiki sighed tiredly.

"Ah man, I'm at disadvantage…" Beatrix sighed with cloud of depression over her head.

"And why's that?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you think?! I can only make desserts and anything can happen in the Autumn Elections!" Beatrix cried out, grabbing his collar and shaking him comically.

"Uwhaawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawha, stop shaking me~!" Kurogasa cried out.

"I CA~N'T~!" Beatrix cried out with tears falling down comically.

"Yukihira! Kururugi! Finally the two of you and I can settle this!" Takumi declared proudly.

"Oh hey Takumi, you made it too? Good luck." Soma waved.

"Don't treat me like a sidekick!" Takumi cried out comically, and Isami was laughing. "Isami, don't laugh!"

"It seems we all are in this game." Mito said walking towards them with a smile before winking at Kurogasa. "Ne?"

"Yeah, seems like it." Kurogasa grinned weakly.

"Hmhmhm… of course I'm on it." Alice said satisfied.

"Oh… I'm on it too…" Ryo said lazily.

"Of course you'd be." Alice said, matter-of-factly. "It'd be embarrassing if my close aide failed to be selected. Failure is not an option during the preliminaries."

"I'll be fine. Even if I went up against you, I'll be invested enough to try and win." Ryo said slowly.

"Puku~!" Alice pouted comically, puffing her cheeks.

"Why are you sulking with that face?" Ryo asked.

"Nani o! Nani o! I don't think you have enough respect for me!" Alice said, comically slapping Ryo on the shoulder.

"I'm always showing my respect."

"Motto! You should show more respect! You should emulate Erina's secretary!"

"Ali-chan, you made it?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Did you have any doubts~?" The albino girl giggled.

"No, of course not." Kurogasa smiled. "Though I wished Na-chan were to compete in it too."

"It's against the rules for those in the Elite Ten to enter. I would win hands down." The girl said walking towards her boyfriend with her best friend following behind her. "Morning Ku-kun."

"Hey Na-chan." Kurogasa smiled back, ready to kiss her girlfriend, but Alice got in the way, prompting him to stop.

"Mou~ you should kiss me first!" Alice pouted. "Chu~!" She leaned in towards Kurogasa with her lips puckered up to kiss him.

"Alice, get away from my boyfriend!" Erina snapped, pushing her away.

"No, you always hog him! It's _my_ turn!" Alice pouted childishly.

"He's not your boyfriend, he's mine!" Erina warned as she glared at her cousin. And by then, the two of them got into a comical dust fight.

"Are you going to stop them?" Mito asked.

"When they're like that, nope." He said.

"Minna-saaaaaaaaaaaan! Konnichiwa~!" Urara's voice called out as she was on a lift, held high up by a crane. "This is your cute Urara-chan~!" She winked.

"Urara-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" Most of the single men cheered while some of their girlfriends glared at them.

"I HATE YOU~!" Beatrix roared out.

"I'll be your host at the Autumn Elections!" Urara announced, ignoring her. "My heartfelt congratulations to those of you who have been selected! As I'm sure you're already aware about the announcement, the sixty contestants are split into Group A and B. Each group will undergo the preliminaries separately. Only those who rank high within each group will advance to the actual tournament!" She then took a piece of paper from her skirt pocket. "I also have a message from Eizan-senpai, an executive committee member."

"…" Soma and Kurogasa slightly glowered hearing the name as they listened intently.

"Many VIPs and heavyweights of the food industry will attend the preliminaries. This is an optimal opportunity to demonstrate your talents. However… should you have the misfortune of presenting an unworthy dish, you may lose any hope of pursuing a career in the food industry at that point. Well, best luck preparing for it… over your summer break. And that's all from me, your cutie Urara-chan!" And the single men went crazy again.

"Any chance he was directing that to someone else?" Erina said softly placing her hand on Kurogasa's.

"He's directing it on all of those competing… especially Soma and I. He plans on crushing us by any means necessary…" Kurogasa gritted, clenching his fist tightly.

"Well, it means that you and I have some studying time ahead." Erina smiled with a bashful blush.

"Eh? Oh, I… guess so." Kurogasa smiled weakly with a sheepish look. "So the Elite Ten will be handling things on the other side of the table, huh?" Kurogasa asked Alice, who was sitting at the bench.

"Right. They oversee the Autumn Elections, every year." Alice nodded. "Not to mention that most of the current Elite Ten have scored a victory during the main tournament. In other words, whoever emerges from the preliminaries victorious…"

"Becomes possible Elite Ten successors…" Kurogasa realized with wide eyes, surprising everyone. "Is this true, Na-chan?"

"I'm not sure." The girl openly admitted, "I received this rank due to my skills, so I got a free pass."

"Still… the fact I could possibly become a member of the Elite Ten just by winning the Autumn Elections…" Kurogasa got out as he tried to process all of this. The stakes couldn't have been more higher.

* * *

The next day came and the Polar Star Students received a document from the Autumn Elections Office and the theme for the preliminary round is: A curry dish. It left them confounded. It was so broad, and hard to grasp. The only dish they could think of is curry rice, but it didn't necessarily have to be restricted to just that dish. It had to use curry in some way or form.

As of now, Kurogasa was in his Sushi RS Room with Nao, Hojo, Mito, and even Konishi, the former making sushi for them as they thought about this.

"A curry dish?" Nao said.

"Yeah, it's too bad I can't make a curry dish with sushi…" Kurogasa sighed dejectedly, giving Hojo a set of sushi for her to eat. "It's too broad and hard to grasp…" He then turned to his senior. "Did you have a curry dish theme in last year's Autumn Election, senpai?"

"Unfortunately, no. The themes vary year by year." Konishi answered. "It'd be next to impossible to figure out past Autumn Elections."

"Figures…" Kurogasa sighed as he had his head down and crossed his arms in thought.

"So we're in the dark and have no real expertise in Indian dishes." Shiki informed, "What's a four letter word for screw? Because that's our situation."

"Yeah, sounds about- whoa, where did _you_ come from?!" Kurogasa gawked in surprise. "You can't just sneak in like that!"

"Huh? Oh Dad told me to give you this." Shiki said with a shrug.

"From Oren-san?" Kurogasa blinked, taking from Shiki what appeared to be a letter and opened it to read it. "It's from Shishou."

"Your teacher actually said something about meeting someone named Shiomi or something." The hat wearer said.

"Shiomi? Who's that?" Mito asked confused. That's when Kurogasa remembered something.

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"Kurogasa, if I were you, learn some Indian recipes for the following competition."_

 _"Indian? Why?" He raised an eyebrow._

 _"Oh let's just say I have my perks."_

 _"Of course you do…" Kurogasa deadpanned._

LINE BREAK

 _"Hey Dad," Soma said._

 _"Hm?"_

 _"What was the Polar Star Dormitory back then?"_

 _Joichiro smirked at that. "It was fun. Everyone worked on perfecting their craft however they could." It was then that the adults and kids went out to the back and sat on the steps, as they had a conversation, talking about the many things that happened and the adventures that Kurogasa and Soma had, up to this point. "Oh, there was one student who always made curry. Her name's Shiomi. I think she became an instructor at Totsuki. Tell her my name and she'll take care of ya."_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"So that's who Mr. Joe was referring to…" Kurogasa muttered.

"You got something in mind?" Hojo asked.

"Maybe. I think I know just what to do."

* * *

And so later on in the day, he met up with Soma and Megumi and told him about the person named Shiomi. Soma had the same idea to meet up with said person, so the three of them went over to where Shiomi supposedly worked at. And by the time they arrived, they saw some sort of two-story shack.

"This… is where Shiomi lives?" Kurogasa blinked.

"It's a bit run-down…" Soma noticed.

"Maybe she's scary like Chapelle-sensei." Megumi said a bit worried.

"I highly doubt that, Megumi-chan." Kurogasa smiled sheepishly with a sweat drop.

"Well it's time to find out!" Soma grinned. With that, the three of them entered the facility sliding the door open and the inside wasn't as impressive like the outside. "Hello~? Anyone here?" He called out. They looked around until they saw a sign that said 'Kitchen Lab'.

"Maybe she's there." Kurogasa said, walking towards it before opening the door. "Hello?" He said as he came in seeing the said Kitchen Lab with Soma and Megumi following him in before they turned to the side and saw someone. "Whoa!"

The person in question was shorter than both Sōma and Megumi and has a noticeably youthful face. She has her hair tied in a high ponytail and wears square glasses and was wearing a T-shirt with the word pattern spice written on it, and track shorts. She was currently grinding some spices into powder with a mortar and pestle until she saw the students. "Ah! A guest! I didn't make tea! I'm so sorry!"

"Loli!" Beatrix came through the window as she rolled to see the girl.

"What is this?! Pop-out-of-nowhere-day?!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

"Hey, the bug I planted on you is giving good girls to find!"

"Wait, what?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"It's inside your eye, Dead Space style!"

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?! Get it out of me! Get it out of me!" Kurogasa panicked, touching his face all over.

"Doing so makes that eye blind. Heh, I got your sex life too!" Beatrix giggled pervertedly.

"No… you can't do this to me…" Kurogasa cried anime tears. He then comically pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Emu, it's me! I have an emergency! I need you to take a bug out of my eye!"

"What part of inside your eye and becoming blind… do you not understand?" The girl said incredulous at his stupidity.

"I'm not letting you see my private life, that's what!" Kurogasa shouted, before talking on the phone. "Look, I don't care how you do it, just get it out of me!"

"Phrasing!" Shiki joked as he was outside from the shattered window. "And she's lying, it turns off when your… thing goes up."

"Dammit Shiki! You're not supposed to tell him that!" Beatrix snapped.

Kurogasa looked at him before going back to his phone. "I'll call you back…" He said, before hanging up. "Are you really sure, Shiki?"

"I made it. I understand privacy for us dudes. Bro code man."

"Thank goodness…" Kurogasa sighed in relief. "Wait, you _made_ it?! The heck's wrong with you?!"

"She threatened to call dad here to make a shoppe."

"Figures…" Kurogasa gritted.

"Um…" Soma said, since he and Megumi were completely ignored. "Do you any of you know where Shiomi is? I'm wondering if I could inform her that Joichiro Saiba's son came-"

*POW! WHABAM!*

From out of nowhere, a fist came clobbering against Soma's face! If one didn't notice, they would see the fist punching Soma's face in slow motion before he was sent flying towards a stack of books from three different camera angles. Megumi obviously looked on in horror while Shiki and Beatrix blinked in surprise.

"Ooooooooooooooooooooh…" Kurogasa said impressed, clapping his hands.

"Wow. Nice right hook…" Shiki said.

"DAAAAHAHAHAHA~MN!" Beatrix laughed out. "As Rock would say, YOU GOT FU-"

"NECK CHOP!" Shiki cried as he did the move on the girl.

"Joichiro Saiba's… son?" The glasses wearing girl seethed. "Please leave right now! I don't want to think about Saiba-senpai!"

"Ano… you're… Shiomi?" Kurogasa blinked, pointing to the girl.

"Uh, y-yes I am!"

"I see. It's nice to meet you. I'm Kurogasa Kururugi. I heard that you're a friend of my shishou. Tendou Souji." For some reason, Shiomi flinched at the name making him flinch too and got into a defensive stance, ready to handle anything she might do. But instead of the what he thought she might do, Shiomi's eyes sparkled with love all over her face.

"Tendou-chan is your teacher?!" Shiomi asked excited, getting up and close at his face.

"U-Uh… yes?" Kurogasa blinked.

"How is he!?" She shouted latching onto Kurogasa's body.

"He's fine. He's out and about." Kurogasa said, rather perplexed by her behavior.

"Oh that's good… is he dating anyone?"

"Not that I know of."

"Yes! I still have a chance!"

"Yo Jun. I got what you want." A male's voice said, carrying a small brown bag. "What the hell?"

Everyone looked to see young man with long, white hair that is mostly tied in a ponytail. His bangs are neatly swept to the right and is also considerably tall and has dark skin and green eyes. He wore his school uniform unbuttoned with a shirt inside and a loosened tie around his uniform collar.

"Um… hi?" Kurogasa said sheepishly.

* * *

"There's some Darjeeling tea!" Beatrix said as Shiki set a plate of chocolate chips cookies.

"Sorry about that." Shiki apologized. "Things got a bit crazy."

"So anyways, we're from the Polar Star Dorm and we wanted to learn more about curry." Megumi said.

"Right. It's the topic for the Autumn-" Soma began.

"I can teach everyone else but you." Shiomi pouted at Soma before looking away. "I will not talk to you, Saiba-senpai or any of your family members either." She added, making everyone sweat drop.

"Wow, instantly rejected…" Kurogasa muttered. "What the heck did Mr. Joe do to you, Shiomi-senpai?"

Jun shivered as her eyebrow twitched uncontrollably, "I was subjected to Saiba-senpai's experiments at every turn, and tortured like you won't believe. And I was scarred for life."

"I can kinda understand why…" Kurogasa's eyebrow twitched, looking at Soma.

"BUT!" She shouted as a lovey-dovey look took over her face, "Tendou-chan swept me off my feet and came to my rescue!"

"Wow, even back then, he has that effect on people…" Kurogasa laughed sheepishly.

"I'm sorry we're being so rude to our guests." The dark-skinned man said, as he sat down and set down a tray that had teacups. "I'm Akira Hayama, a first-year like the rest of you. I'm her assistant."

"Assistant? Don't you usually join a lab in your second-year?" Megumi asked.

"It's because she needs me." Akira answered. "She's incapable of anything other than fiddling around with spices. Isn't that right, Jun?"

"T-That's not true!" Shiomi stuttered. "And you're supposed to call me Professor Shiomi! Hayama-kun, you're my assistant! You need to show some respect!"

"Jun… you were supposed to water the plants today." Akira reminded, making her flinch. "You forgot again, so I did it for you."

"Hai… gomennasai."

"You forgot last week too and the plants almost died."

"Hai… it was my fault."

"And who helped the guests that you ignored entirely last month?"

"Hayama-kun, it was you…"

"Is it just me or is she getting tinier?" Shiki asked.

"Ha…" Beatrix chuckled.

"So what exactly do you do around here?" Kurogasa asked.

"As I said before, Jun specializes in spices. She devised a way to reliably cultivate tropical spices in Japan. She's also been successful in finding long-term storage methods with freezing technology and in extracting new flavor compounds."

"Huh… that's actually impressive, senpai." Soma said intrigued.

"B-Being praised by you gives me no joy." Shiomi stuttered trying to stave off the praise. "But yes. I will say that spices have great potential." She then put on her lab coat and suddenly started doing a full lecture. "To start with, spices speak to these three factors: fragrance, spiciness, and color. Blending spices creates synergy. The more varieties you blend together, the less pronounced their individual characteristics become. But if you are not mindful in selecting your spices, blending may result in off-flavors. At most you can blend twenty different spices." She then went on and on and on, while everyone just stares. And Megumi of all people, was actually taking notes.

"Uh… is she always like that?" Kurogasa asked Akira.

"Sadly yes." Akira sighed. "It's going to be a while when she gets like this. Well, since you all came to us to see how curry works, Come with me to the kitchen. I'll show you how deep the spice world goes."

* * *

Soon, Akira led Kurogasa, Soma, Megumi, Beatrix, and Shiki to another kitchen lab and Akira had made the first curry. "Here's the first dish: Kolivartha curry. A traditional Southern Indian dish. I used fresh curry leaf to flavor it."

"Wait, fresh? That's gotta be ten times more potent than the dried curry leaf." Kurogasa said, a bit surprised.

"Go on. Have a taste." Akira encouraged. The five Polar Star students took their spoons and had a bite and their eyes widened at the taste.

"What is this?" Soma said stunned. "The strong fragrance of the curry leaf is piercing my nose, then the spicy umami of the chili peppers and onions follow after!"

"It has the flavors matching within both equality and depth profile." Shiki said as he looked at the dark skinned teen. "Is this all fresh?"

"Yes they are. Alright, next dish." Akira said before quickly making the two dishes of curry.

"He didn't even look at the pot!" Beatrix said.

"Goan fish curry, which uses whitefish such as marlin or salmon." Akira said.

"How come there's two?" Megumi asked.

"They have the same ingredients and spices." Akira said. "Compare how they taste."

This time Shiki noticed something, "Kuro, try it." He asked the brunette who just seemed surprised at his order.

"Uh… okay?" Kurogasa blinked before tasting the two curries. "Whoa! The second one tastes much better than the first! How did you-"

"You toasted the coriander and red peppers for the second one didn't you." Shiki reasoned to Akira.

"How did you know?"

"Before I got adopted I lived in the Middle East for a bit. I knew an old hag who was a pretty savvy cook. So I know some of the smells by heart." Shiki admitted as others look at him. "What?"

"You never told us that." Megumi said.

"You never asked. Besides I thought it was obvious with my looks and dad's being different." Shiki grinned. "Anyway, the combo works well enough so I thought a second opinion was needed, that's why I asked Kuro to eat it."

"Interesting…" Akira smirked. "Okay, here's the last one." He said before making the final curry, which was Kolivartha curry, but the fragrance was a lot stronger and the taste was spicier as well.

"It's so much stronger and spicier in terms of fragrance and taste!" Megumi gasped. "How is this possible?"

"He didn't add any other ingredients in there, so…" Beatrix said.

"You used water instead of the soup stock, didn't you." Kurogasa said.

"Water?" the other Polar Star students gasped.

"Using what Shiomi said earlier, the more flavor you put in the curry the less pronounced it is. But the reverse also holds true. Since he added water, the spices' flavors magnified significantly."

"I see…" Shiki started out cupping his chin while thinking real hard. "You did that to make sure that flavors wouldn't get too lost in each other, thus allowing the spices to fully come out and maximize their potential. Less is more in this case, huh?"

"I'm impressed. You managed to deduce how I cooked my dishes." Akira smirked at Kurogasa.

"I learned from the best." Kurogasa grinned sheepishly. "It's nothing really."

"I should really look into this Tendou." Akira said aloud as he was intrigued by this man, he thought it was Jun's craziness that made him more powerful than he was.

"My Shishou?" He blinked.

"Yes, but another time, so did you grasp the basics of spices?"

"Yeah. At least what you do around here. Shiomi-senpai puts it in theory and you put it into actual practice. Plus, I noticed that while you were cooking your curry, you never looked at the pot. You only used your nose."

"I thought he just perfectly memorized his Mise en place." Beatrix said astonished at the feat. "To use only your nose…"

"I can only think of one title for you." Kurogasa said to Akira. "The Spice Sultan."

"Hmph, thanks for compliment, although what is your style of cooking?" Akira asked as Kurogasa seemed to be slightly confused.

"Sushi, well that and most rice dishes."

"Well, you're in a pretty good area to use curry." Akira smiled. "When I heard that the theme of the preliminaries was curry, I laughed. Still, I look forward to seeing you work."

"Same here." Kurogasa smirked back.

"The Spice Sultan vs. The Sushi Shogun huh?" Shiki mused. "That I gotta see."

"Sushi Shogun? Wait, you're the Conquering Sushi Shogun everyone's been talking about?" Akira asked.

"Ehehe… yeah, something like that. Although, I wish I didn't get that much attention." Kurogasa admitted embarrassedly.

"I suggest getting a teacher to work with to duck down." Akira said pointing to Jun's room. "Since it helps hides you."

"Right. I'll make a note of it."

"Thanks for the curry. I'll be sure to repay with a better curry next time." Soma grinned.

"Next time?" Akira said. "Soma, you do realize that the Autumn Elections are completely on a whole different level. I've heard of yours and Kurogasa's exploits at the camp and while it is impressive that you have accomplished it through unique and innovative methods despite the restrictions given to you both, it's not going to be enough to climb to the top."

"!" Kurogasa and Soma looked surprised with wide eyes.

"There's something that reaches the customer before flavor and appearance. It remains after the diner chews and swallows. That's fragrance. The one who dominates the field of cooking is the one who dominates the fragrance. And that person is me, Akira Hayama."

"Hm… maybe." Kurogasa said. "But there's one thing that you forgot. And that surpasses even the fragrance."

"And what's that?" Akira asked.

"The smile of the customer." Kurogasa answered. "I cook to not only be the best, but to make that person smile, knowing that what I did changed their lives." He then raised a finger in the air. "Shishou ga iteita: Cooking spreads to another. The flavor connects one person to another."

"Does anyone else hear that music?" Beatrix said as she suddenly heard gospel like music in the room.

"Do you really think you can defeat me in curry?" Akira asked.

"Oh I don't think. I know." Kurogasa smirked. "As long as I walk the Path of Heaven, I know I can win."

"Seriously where is that music coming from?" Beatrix opening the door to where Jun was whom was currently holding a music device as she stood there. "…Found it…"

* * *

Later on that day…

"Alright, now that I got a grasp of what to do for curry, I better get started on experimenting." Kurogasa said to himself as he was walking back to the dorm.

"KURO~!"

Before he could say anything, when he turned around, a white blur tackled him down to the ground, "Ow, what the- Ali-chan?"

"Hi~!"

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm here to kidnap you." She chirped.

"What? Why?"

"For a date of course! This is the only chance I got for you and I to have some alone time!"

"You know Na-chan's gonna kill you right?" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Not to worry. Ryo-kun is acting as my interceptor today."

* * *

"LET ME THROUGH!" Erina screamed as she kicked and punched at the dark haired teen who was yawning at the attacks.

"Can't…"

"KUSO!"

* * *

"So c'mon!" Alice said as they sprang up and ran off.

"Uwhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Slow down, Ali-chan!"

"I can't! I'm too excited!"

"Where are we going anyway?!"

"You'll see~!"

And so Alice led Kurogasa in a bit of hurry as they sped past several students leaving a dust cloud in their wake before they arrived at the said destination. "Ta-daa~! Here we are!"

"A… private villa? All the way out here?" Kurogasa blinked.

"It's mine!" Alice quipped.

"I wonder if you acquired it through illegal means… like betting on it from some yakuza member." He deadpanned.

"Shoooo… you don't need to know that." Alice shushed.

"Yappari na!" Kurogasa comically snapped. "What the heck did you do?!"

"Well… long story short we, that is me and Ryo-kun, got to another underground gambling tournament and we beat some gothic girl named… I think Celestia Luden-something and got this… oh and a lifetime supply of Royal Milk Tea."

Kurogasa paled. "You got it from _the_ Celestia Ludenberg?! Are you crazy?!"

"Why? Is she someone crazy or something?" Alice tilted her head in interest.

"Crazy is an understatement! Ughhh… and I'm betting your grandpa doesn't know about this either…"

"Oh he knows," Alice smiled, "He's the reason I can still keep it."

"So then why-"

"Aw mou~ enough with the details, let's go inside!" Alice said before dragging him into the villa.

"Ahhhhh, chotto!"

* * *

"Haaa… haaa… haaaa…" Erina panted heavily after trying so hard to get past Ryo but failed. "Dammit Kurokiba-kun. Let me through…" She moaned hoarsely.

"Sorry… I can't…" Ryo yawned.

"I swear if I find out Alice is doing something to Ku-kun, I am going to-" In a sudden second she leaped out the window… only to grabbed by the back of her collar. "Dammit!"

"Leave Ojou-san alone…" Ryo said lazily. "She'll bring him back soon."

* * *

"Wow… Ali-chan was never this excited." Kurogasa sighed to himself as he was in the bathtub relaxing, after he and Alice played video games, board games, and other things for the past couple of hours.

"Yeah!" Alice announced as she slipped into the bathroom behind Kurogasa.

"A-Ali-chan! What are you doing here?!" Kurogasa panicked. "I'm still taking a bath!"

"I know, I want to wash your back." she said getting a scrub and gently started to wash Kurogasa.

"You really don't have to." He slightly blushed.

"But I want to." She pouted cutely.

"Why?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Alice said stopping her motions and wrapped her arms around Kurogasa's body. "…I love you…"

"Huh?" Kurogasa gasped in surprise, turning around to see Alice. "You-" He paused when he saw Alice in her natural beauty. He was in slight awe at the sight. Sure, she was almost as beautiful as Erina, but her pale skin look so radiant that it was almost divine to look at, no crack, blemish, or imperfection on her porcelain white skin. "A-Ali…"

The girl for once look flustered as she covered her breasts and private parts, "Mmh!" she cried as Kurogasa blushed harder at her shy side.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to stare like that!" Kurogasa panicked again, looking away.

"I-It's fine… I mean it…" Alice said gently making Kurogasa look into her deep red eyes. "Koko." She smiled as she teased him using the nickname she gave him when they were kids.

"K-Koko?" He stuttered as he blushed. "Y-You never used that nickname since…"

"We were kids?" Alice supplied. "Yeah, I know."

"Alice, are you… really serious?"

"Of course I am. If I wasn't, we wouldn't be in this situation now." Alice said, before she leaned in closer. "I just… want to be with you, and this is the only chance I get." She said, before kissing him square on the lips.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmph!" Kurogasa muffled out in shock with wide eyes as he involuntarily leaned against the edge of the bathtub while Alice had her hands on his cheeks, kissing him with fervor. Kurogasa tried to resist, but Alice kept her hold on him. Slowly but surely, he was gradually giving in to Alice's kiss. _'Ali-chan… why…?'_ Kurogasa thought as his eye got heavy, and was less resistant.

"I know you love her…" Alice said breaking the kiss as she trembled a bit, "But… can you at least let me dream… please?" she said holding onto him and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Ali-chan…" He muttered, before slowly wrapping his arms around her. "I… I never knew you felt that way about me, all this time. When did you know?"

"When you left and I couldn't see Erina again… it hurt my heart so much not to see you…" Alice said softly closing her eyes to enjoy Kurogasa's body heat.

"I'm sorry, Ali-chan, I…"

"I know. It wasn't your fault." Alice assured. "I'm just glad that you're back in Erina's life. And mine…"

"…" Kurogasa remained silent. What could he really say?

"Can you promise me something?" Alice asked, looking at Kurogasa.

"What is it?" He asked back.

"I know you still love Erina. Just promise that you'll pay attention to me sometimes."

"Ali-chan… I'm not _those_ kinds of people." He slightly sweat dropped.

"Please?"

Kurogasa eyes widened at the slight fear and desire from Alice's eyes… as if she would disappear from the world if he said something that could hurt her.

"I… I can try." Kurogasa relented.

Alice smiled as she hugged him again, not saying anything as did Kurogasa while holding her.

*BAM!*

All of a sudden, the door to the bathroom swung open scaring Kurogasa and Alice and there stood at the entrance a very, very angry Erina. Her hair even flailed around as a fiery aura surrounded her.

"Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice?!" Erina shrieked.

"Oh no…" Kurogasa squeaked.

"Hold me tighter…" Alice said with a sigh, completely not noticing Erina's presence.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY BOYFRIEND!" Erina shrieked louder before she jumped on them.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"Ow…" Kurogasa mumbled as he was walking down the path with Erina, with his clothes mind you, having bruises and bumps on his face.

"Hey kid."

Kurogasa eyes widened as he heard that voice, looking at a tree he saw a pink camera as a man was sitting on a branch.

"T-Tsukasa?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"What?" Erina got out, before looking up to see him. "Y-You! D-Decade!"

"Hey." The man said jumping down in front of the two. "Tendou told me to find you… and her." The man bowed his head kindly to Erina. "Ojou-san."

"Oh don't give that holier than thou bit, Tsukasa, you're just as snarky as Kaito Daimon!" Kurogasa snapped.

"Hmph, anyway, Tendou wanted me to explain… the situation with what happened with Double to your wife." Tsukasa said with a lazy yawn.

"W-We're not married!" Erina snapped with a blush.

"What about Shotaro and Phillip with the Tiger Dopant? And stop breaking the fourth wall!"

Tsukasa raised his hands to calm the boy down, "Easy. I'm going to explain, but I have to start with the beginning for Erina-san. Is there a place nearby to talk privately?"

"There is." Erina said.

And so Erina and Kurogasa led Tsukasa to the former's office and locked the door.

"So mind telling us?" Kurogasa asked.

"Well seeing as you're dating Erina, she has to know that you know us… and by that I mean the Kamen Riders." Tsukasa started as Erina eyes widened. "Yes, _all_ of them, even some new ones that haven't been shown." Tsukasa chuckled as he looked at the girl. "You know my story right? Decade has been made?"

"One moment." Erina said, before suddenly choking Kurogasa and shaking him comically. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Uwhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawha! Stop shaking me~ choking~ can't brea~the!" Kurogasa wailed.

"Well actually, if it wasn't for the tasty food, he would've never met Tendou." Tsukasa said taking a seat on Erina's chair. "But again you know my story and powers right?"

"Yes." Erina said calmly, focusing on Tsukasa while still choking and shaking Kurogasa as if it was perfectly normal.

"Well after I took the title of Destroyer of Worlds, I got bored and tried to look for a place to be well… my 'resting' place." Decade smiled as he flexed his fingers on 'resting'.

"You mean… here?" Erina asked.

"No." He said bluntly, "But the food was great so I make stops here once in awhile, but I felt… bad, that I killed the Riders before me. So I took them to worlds that I thought they would like such as Tendou." The Tenth rider explained as Erina dropped Kurogasa. "Understand?"

"I see." Erina pondered.

"Uwhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Kurogasa groaned, having swirls in his eyes.

"Which leads me to being here. To answer your question, Kurogasa, the barrier between the worlds are… weakening. Like my belt, someone in another universe got it, some blonde kid I think, so that explains the Dopant. Know that some Riders will come by to fix those mistakes."

"A blonde kid. Who would do that?" He asked, after getting his senses back.

"I'm pretty sure one co-author did that." Tsukasa said bringing his feet on the desk. "Don't ask."

"I'll take your word for it." Kurogasa deadpanned. "So in summary, you used your silver veil to take the Riders on vacation, sound about right?"

"Pretty much, but she needs to learn to keep a secret." The man said as he looked at Erina. "Can you?"

"O-Of course." Erina stuttered. "I won't say a word."

"Good." Tsukasa said, before taking out a huge box and tossed it to Erina who caught it. "Here. Something to make sure you keep your mouth shut. DecaDriver, Complete Selection Modification."

"Kyaa! You can't get these in the boxes anymore!" Erina cried as she held it.

"Oh great a female version of you." Tsukasa chuckled, before standing up, "Time for me to go. See ya kid, Tendou will come to… well let's just say that Kabuto has some big plans for this tournament thing." With that, turning away from them, a silver veil appeared before Tsukasa walked in and vanished with the veil also going away in a matter of moments.

"So… I just met the real Tsukasa, Shotaro, and Phillip?" Erina deadpanned.

"Yes… Yes, you did."

"Okay, hold my belt." Erina said as Kurogasa did.

"Why-"

 ***THUD!***

"AH! NA-CHAN!"

* * *

The next day…

Another day has arrived at Totsuki Academy, and most of the students have went home for summer vacation. Since Soma and Kurogasa already had theirs, they were staying in the Polar Star Dorm and as of now, they were seeing Megumi, Shiki, and Beatrix off.

"So, you're heading out, Megumi-chan?" Kurogasa asked.

"Hai. I'm going back to my hometown." The sweet girl said as she smiled happily.

"Can I meet your parents?" Beatrix asked hopefully.

"No." Shiki frowned, "You're not asking her parents for their blessings."

"But why~?" Beatrix whined.

"Because the blessings is an excuse for you to sleep with her mother." Shiki deadpanned.

"You really need to put her on a tighter leash." Kurogasa sighed.

"Woof-woof!" Beatrix flipped off the boy as she smiled. "Anyway back to the U and K for me. Sensei is going to teach me some stuff that can save my ass."

"England?" Soma raised an eyebrow.

"Yu~p."

"I'm going to India, the old hag will be waiting there to teach me first hand-experience by living there." Shiki explained.

"Well safe trips for all of you." Soma grinned.

"Be sure to bring back some souvenirs." Kurogasa smiled.

For once Beatrix and Shiki smile kindly as the nodded with big smiles, "Sure!"

"Unh!" Megumi smiled back before the three of them left to go on their summer vacation.

"So… what now?" Soma asked.

"We'll be experimenting a lot with spices and ingredients for sure." Kurogasa said. "We already used up our summer vacations after all."

"Well… better start now." Soma chuckled as he got out some notebooks.

"Yeah."

* * *

 **Fen:** And another chapter down! And we got to see some fluff between Kuro and Alice! Isn't it just cute: X3

 **AQ:** Yup, I nearly had a sugar rush from that stuff.

 **Fen:** Plus, we get an explanation from Tsukasa/Decade as to how the whole Kamen Rider thing happened.

 **AQ:** Yes so all of you understand why Philip and Shotaro appeared last chapter.

 **Fen:** Yep! Next chapter we have the Autumn Elections! Or at least something before it. We have a little original chapter planned for ya.

 **AQ:** Yes, a slight view on the status on Bea, Nero and a battle between Kuro and someone we know.

 **Fen:** To find out, stay tuned for the next chapter and see ya on the next Main Course!


	13. Dish 13

**Fen:** Ughhhhhhhhhh… I can't believe we held this chapter off for so long!

 **AQ:** Yup…

 **Fen:** Hey guys… Fen and Queen here. Sorry about the long wait, but after many months, we decided not to do a cook-off or anything, just a straight-up date chapter.

 **AQ:** Yup, my mind is getting to tired with using real cooking into this, I need a break.

 **Fen:** So without further ado, here's the chapter…

Disclaimer: Same thing.

 **Warning:** This chapter will contain some strong language.

* * *

It's been a few days since summer vacation had officially begun. Kurogasa had already used up his summer vacation time to spend with Erina over in Kyoto, meaning that he will be staying in the Polar Star dorm. But of course, he won't be stuck there _all_ the time. He will be spending some of his time with his girlfriend Erina, so it wouldn't be _all_ bad. As of now, he was in Erina's office with various books about curry and spices on the desk, trying to come up with a recipe for the Autumn Election preliminaries. The heavyweights of the food industry will be present at the event and he has to make a great impact and impression on them. Not only that, he has to score very high if he is to advance to the main tournament. And something else was bothering him.

Akira Hayama.

He was a fellow first-year of the 92nd Generation. His expertise happens to involve curry and spices. The dishes he made during his visit at Shiomi Seminar was definitely something.

His acute sense of smell allows him to cook his dishes "blindly" as he can detect any minute changes in his dish just by the changing aroma, thus he can cook without having to look into his pot. His sense of smell is so sharp, it wouldn't even be surprising if he were to pick out and name the spices blindfolded.

Then there was his particular affinity with spices, displaying a wide variety and vast wealth of knowledge of their properties. He is also well aware about how certain preparations of spices during the cooking process can change the overall flavor of a dish, even if the spice preparation was the only change. He has shown to be able to use a large amount of spices and create cohesion, and that in itself is a force to be reckoned with.

"Ughhhhh… nothing…" Kurogasa groaned as he placed a book down and rested his elbows on the desk, covering his face in exhaustion. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought…"

"Ku-kun," A familiar voice said. His face lifted up and looked to his right, seeing his girlfriend Erina approach him.

"Hey Na-chan." Kurogasa smiled tiredly.

"You're still reading up on those?" Erina asked.

"Yeah," Kurogasa sighed as he sat back. "Coming up with a curry dish is a lot harder than I thought it would be… I haven't felt _this_ stressed since my Shokugeki with Hojo."

"Well, you need to relax." Erina said, as she stood behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders, massaging them. "You've been reading those books for the past few days."

"Mmmmmmm…" Kurogasa sighed in content, closing his eyes, feeling her hands firmly relaxing his shoulder muscles.

"D-Do you like it?" Erina asked softly adding more pressure to make Kurogasa groan appreciatively. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it feels good." Kurogasa sighed in relief. "Ever considered being a masseuse? Because your hands are doing wonders for my shoulders right now…"

"No… I only want to do this for you."

"And I appreciate it." Kurogasa smiled small as he kissed her hand.

The girl smiled as she tilt his head up and kissed him, "…" She didn't say anything as she and Kurogasa just enjoyed the quietness.

After the brief moment between the two, Kurogasa asked, "Say, where's Hisako? Doesn't she usually follow you around?"

"I gave her the day off, so she's testing her curry recipe." Erina said before going back to silence. "Ahh… I want this peaceful time everyday-"

"YO~!" Soma yelled kicking the door open. How did he even find Erina's office in the first place anyway?

"And now I want to kill him." Erina deadpanned looking at the letter opener she had near her. "…Next time…" She said softly.

"Should I go Para-DX on him and do a Knockout Critical Smash?"

"Hmm… I was thinking Mighty Brothers XX." Erina said as she and her boyfriend look at Soma who was clueless.

"Eh? What's that?"

"Gashatto…" Kurogasa muttered. "Kimewaza…"

"Huh?" Soma blinked.

"Mighty Brothers…" Erina said with a smirk.

"Critical Strike!" Kurogasa said as they both jumped up.

"Whoa, since when can you guys fly?!" Soma said before noticing they were getting close to him. "Are you getting closer-?"

*WHABAM!*

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHOOHOOHOOHOOEY~!" Soma shouted as he was sent flying out of Erina's office window and into the sky before a speck of him sparkled.

"Game…" Kurogasa said as he held his lover's hand.

"Clear." Erina said softly with a grin.

Just another normal day for the two Kamen Rider fans.

* * *

 **(Cue Rough Diamonds by SCREEN MODE)**

 **(Instrumental)** The first three beats of the instrumental show Soma and Kurogasa in poses before the song starts picking up at the fast pace. The two boys glowed golden surrounded by fire as various pieces of food flew upwards before the flames covered the screen, changing to a scene of the 92nd Generation Prodigies in silhouettes, walking towards the camera as the title card appeared for a moment before the flames overwhelmed the screen and changed scenery.

 **(Omoi egaiteru IMEEJI yori haruka~ mukou~ gawa e~)** The scene shows various screen shots of Soma, Joichiro, Erina, Megumi, Alice, Ryo, Marui, Shun, Yuki, and Ryoko all looking at the camera with various experessions on their faces.  
 **(Tsukuri agete yuku shinjitsu wa mada tooku~ hatena~i tabiji~)** The next scene then showed various screenshots of Takumi, Isami, Hisako, Mito, Akira, Jun, Isshiki, Eizan, Shiki, Beatrix, Tendou, and Kurogasa all doing the same thing as the first batch.

 **(Tagai no PURAIDO wo togi sumaseyou ze)** The next scene then changed to show various characters in the form of alumni, teachers, other support characters, and the headmaster of Tōtsuki Academy.  
 **(Kotoba nante kazari wa hadakesaserya ii)** The scene then changes to four women alumni of Tōtsuki Academy before changing to Erina who looks to the sky with a look of content on her face.

 **(Butsukariai, migakareteiku~ Rolling Stone~)** On each beat of the music, we see various scenes of the cast and the various events that happened during their time at the Academy before it switched to Soma and Kurogasa who had their backs towards each other surrounded by various chef students ready to take them down, but they smirked at each other before they charged at them ready to take the challenge.

 **(Deai wa SHOCKWAVE! SHOCKWAVE! Mada shiranai sekai e~)** The next scene then shows various students standing on top of floating kitchen knives in the sky, that were all pointed towards the sun.  
 **(Aruki hajimeta, mubou na chousensha sa)** Soma, Megumi, Shun, Ryoko, Marui, and Yuki stood on their kitchen knives on one side while Ryo, Takumi, Alice, Hisako, Shiki, and Beatrix were opposite of them and the two lines of knives clashed and parried against each other,  
 **(Te ni shita yaiba de ashita wo kirihirakeba iin darou?)** Akira stood on top of a large cinnamon stick and waved his hand forward and golden beams of light shot of the cinnamon sticks striking the other kitchen knives down.  
 **(Dareka no mono ja nai… jibun dake no STORY)** But Soma's and Ryo's survive as they flew towards Akira's cinnamon stick and clashed. Soma, Ryo, and Akira then noticed one more kitchen knife floating in the sky, showing Kurogasa standing on it with Erina looking on at him.

 **(Cause we're still ROUGH DIAMONDS on the ro~ad!)** Kurogasa then jumped off doing a corkscrew flip then pivoted his body to dive down for a flying kick. As he dived down, a faint image of a certain red-armored beetle warrior overlaps him as he kicks the screen causing it to turn white and the screen shattered into pieces revealing a group shot of silhouetted members of the Elite Ten with a dark figure towering over them with a sinister smile before the scene changed to a group shot of the 92nd Generation Prodigies to end the song.

* * *

 **Dish 13:** Empty Plate

 ***RING~! RING~! RIN-***

 ***BAM!***

"Ugh…" Beatrix Altair groaned from the couch as she used a shotgun to turn off her alarm clock. "Damn, brits and their loud machines…" She said rudely as she got dressed in a loose tee and pajama pants. "Oi, sensei~! Got any bacon left?" She said opening the door to see a family sitting down at the table. "Morning guys."

"About bloody time, Bea!" A blonde haired man said with a chuckle. "Thought you were dead."

"Can i~t!" The girl pouted as she saw a beautiful woman giving her coffee. "As always a great morning to you Tana." She said gracefully as the woman bonked Beatrix's head kindly.

"Stew it!" She said as her husband laughed.

"Fuck off!" The girl said as the kids laughed. "Don't repeat me… then again your dad is more sailor mouth than me."

"So Bea, how's that curry dish coming along?" The blonde man asked.

"Aww, nothing good. Nothing works with my food style." She said stuffing some orange juice into her mouth. "As if sweets can go into Indian cuisine."

"It's fuckin' curry. How the bloody hell can you not mess that up?"

"If I used the traditional practices I won't fuck up, you fucking asshole!" Beatrix yelled, "It's about keeping me, you bleedy twit!" She explained. "Kuro is using rice, Shiki is using alcohol, and blah, blah, I need to use sweets!"

"Have you tried cocoa powder?" The blonde man asked as he went to the pantry and pulled out a black box.

"Tried and failed." Beatrix said, "The flavor is too sweet." She said as she passed the man a notebook. "Here. All of my failed experiments using candied stuff, yams, candies, bread, you name it…"

"Uhh… this is a list of names with F and DF." The man deadpanned as the girl blushed and grabbed it.

"WRONG ONE!" She said with slight panic.

"Good lord, Bea. Just what in the bloody hell were you doing at that school?"

"…What the fuck were _you_ doing?" Bea said as the man blinked.

"I expected a better insult from you."

"Sorry, hard to come up with a good one with the idiot sandwich guy." The girl said back and gave him a different book. "Okay here, the notebook."

"Okay… wow, you weren't kidding." The man said looking at it with a smile. "You're really serious in this."

"Damn right I am." Beatrix huffed.

"But sadly, all of this food is just shit." The man said with a sigh, "Fuck me, cookies in curry?!"

"To be fair… I was sleeping with a-"

"Ah! No more!" the man said with a groan.

* * *

"Ahhhhhhhhh… another day in the hot, sweltering country that is India…" Shiki said to himself as he looked out the window of his room, where the bazaar down below was busy as usual.

"SWEETIE!"

"Dammit!" The boy said as he went into a pot as Oren was looking for him. _'How did he find me here?!'_

"Ssssssh~"

Shiki's eyes turned to see a King Cobra staring at him. "Clever girl…" He quoted as the the camera panned to the pot as it jumped and moved around comically. "OW, OW, OW~! Heel! I said heel~! DAMMIT~!"

"Aha! So zis is where you were!" Oren smiled as he came up to pot and grabbed the lid to lift up and pull him out of it.

"Dang it, Pops! Stop stalking me!" Shiki shouted.

"It's me or your new friend." Oren pointed to the snake.

Shiki looked at the King Cobra… then at his father…

Cobra…

Oren…

Cobra…

Oren…

He took the top and placed it over the pot. "Continue to kill me…"

"SSSSSSH~!" The snake said with hearts over the pot.

"My baby boy~!" Oren cried as he looked horrified at the choice. "No, no, no, no, no! I will not let zis happen! HUP~!" The man then carried the pot over his head, "HUP HUP HUP HUP HUP~!" He said running back to their hotel to resume their training.

"Can you kill me with the venom faster?!" Shiki screamed as the snake stuck its tongue out. "DAM~MAAA~AAA~MIT~!"

* * *

Kurogasa smiled as he entered Shiki wine cellar, "Ah okay, look likes the stuff he wanted me to check looks fine enough." He said as his phone rang, quickly taking it to his ear he spoke, "Yes?"

[ _"Ku-kun, I'm bored."_ ]

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked. "You're… bored?"

[ _"Yes."_ ] Erina said as he could imagine her pouting.

"Okay, what do you want to do?" Kurogasa asked, unsurely.

[ _"Watch the new Kamen Rider Build with me,"_ ] Erina's voice pouted as Kurogasa chuckled.

"You _do_ realize that it's not airing until this coming Sunday, right?"

[ _"I… maybe ask Tsukasa to let me get an early screening of it…"_ ] Erina stated with a bit of worry.

"Even if I did, how would I do it?" Kurogasa asked. It was true. Since the dimension is "real time" on Tsukasa's end, he can't exactly get an early screening of the said show.

[ _"Ugh just come, your job is to please your girlfriend~!"_ ]

"Hai, hai… I'll be there in a few minutes." Kurogasa sighed before hanging up. "You can come out now, Tsukasa…"

"Yo…" The Tenth rider said holding a bottle of wine, "Just wanted to say bye, before going to see the new Rider."

"Na-chan wants an early screening of the new guy." Kurogasa said. "Can you do it?"

"Can't, if you guys see things here from my world, well more Dopants or even worse might come." The man said as he patted Kurogasa. "Just spend time with your girl."

"Oh boy…"

* * *

And so Kurogasa left the Polar Star Dorm and went on his way to the Nakiri Mansion via bike. It took him a while since the entire campus was huge, but he managed to get there nonetheless. Upon arriving, Erina was standing at the doorway, waiting for him. "Hey Na-chan." He greeted, getting off his bike and approached his girlfriend. "Hope you weren't waiting long."

"Wow!" She said looking at the bike, "When did you get this?!"

"Eh, let's just say it's an early Christmas present." Kurogasa shrugged. Erina smiled kindly at her lover as she walked up to him and kissed him. "So… where do you want to go today?" He asked.

"Nowhere as long as we're together."

"But you told me to entertain you." He mockingly pouted. "What kind of a boyfriend am I if I can't entertain the love of my life, hm?"

"Well somewhere fun then." Erina smiled sweetly.

"Okay," He said, before pulling out two tickets with a grin. "Tickets to see the Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: True Ending roadshow movie."

"AHHH~!" Erina swiped the tickets as if it was like the Holy Grail.

"I'm gonna take it that you wanna see it." He smiled.

"Yes, can we go now?!" Erina asked.

"I don't see why not?" He shrugged before giving her an extra helmet and he got on his bike and sat on it. "Hop on."

"NO! Take me with you!"

*POW!*

"Oooft!" Kurogasa was tackled off his motorcycle down to the ground by a familiar white blur. "A-Ali-chan?!"

"Hi~!" Alice greeted with a smile.

"And why are you here, Alice?" Erina frowned.

"I'm bored, Ryo-kun is gone doing his own training!"

"You should've gone with him."

"No! I don't wanna! I want to be with Kuro!" Alice pouted with her comical pout.

"He's my boyfriend!"

"Sharing is caring!"

"Well not in this context!"

"Man, I thought you two grew out of it when we were kids." Kurogasa sighed wearily.

"NEVER~!" Alice childishly yelled out.

"Look, Ali-chan, even if I wanted to take you to the movies, I don't have a spare ticket." He said.

"I know, I stole Beatrix's." She said as she pulled out a golden ticket.

"Wait, what? Why?!" Kurogasa gawked incredulously.

"Also… might've said that you stolen it. Soo… better press that pedel."

"WHERE THE HELL IS KUROGASA~! I WANT MY TICKET BACK!"

"Oh crap…" Kurogasa paled as he quickly got back on his motorcycle, "C'mon Na-chan, get on!"

Erina didn't say anything as she got on.

"Wait for me!" Alice said, sitting behind Erina, holding onto her before Kurogasa put the pedal to the metal.

"You bastard!" Beatrix shouted, running after them, "GIVE ME BACK MY TICKET!" But it was too late as the motorcycle sped away.

* * *

"You are such a troublemaker, Ali-chan…" Kurogasa sighed wearily as the Nakiri cousins had their arms wrapped around his while they walked on their way towards the theater.

"You like it~."

"I'm not gonna get punished for your mistakes." Kurogasa pouted.

"And how long are you going to hold onto Ku-kun?" Erina glared at her cousin.

"As much as I want to!" The white haired girl said with a grin.

"But he's my boyfriend!"

"Well I love him too, and he loves me, so therefore… my boyfriend too!"

"K-Ku-Kun?!" Erina looked shocked.

"She… really didn't give me much of a choice…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Wha-but-they-ilegeal-wahhh…" Erina sputtered… before overheating and fainted on her feet.

"Oi! Na-chan!" Kurogasa panicked. "Look what you did, Ali-chan!"

"Sweet, now we can have our own personally date!" She said taking him in her arms.

"Reboot complete," Erina said before shaking her head. "No way!"

"How… did you do that?" Kurogasa blinked owlishly.

"Hanging with Alice. I learned to repress some stuff… brr…" The girl shivered as Alice huffed.

"How was I supposed to know that manga had a yaoi scene?"

"W-What?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"Well, fancy seeing you here."

Kurogasa's face paled as he heard that silky smooth voice. "Oh no, please don't let it be…" He turned and saw two women, one with the largest set of breasts he had ever seen with golden blonde hair and the other girl was no slouch either she had white long hair wearing a white suit.

"S-S-Shiro?! G-G-Gogo?!"

Suddenly before he can say more his phone rang loudly. "E-Eh?" He got out before picking up his cell phone to answer it. "Moushimoushi?"

[ _"Kurogasa don't hate me, but Zero and Gogo are coming-"_ ] Ni's voice started out in a frantic tone.

"They're already here! Why are they here?!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

[ _"Uhhhh… Zero is not here to steal you away from your current hottie of a girlfriend, nope nothing like that at allllllllll… please leave a message after the beep… beeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"_ ]

"Oi! Ni! We're not done talking! NI! And I know you're making the noise…!" At this he grew annoyed before eventually hanging up.

"What's… going on?" Erina asked confused. Before Kurogasa can explain, the white haired girl walked up to Erina… before smirking. "W-What is it?"

All she did was walk to Kurogasa, "I don't see it…" she said before kissing his cheek.

"S-Shiro!" Kurogasa blushed.

"Stay away from my boyfriend!" Erina snapped.

"I will… for now…" Zero said with a smirk.

"Why you-!" Erina snarled.

"Who is that~?" Alice growled.

Kurogasa sighed before saying, "This is Shiro and Gogo Ongaku. Ni's other sisters. Shiro, Gogo, why are you two here?"

"Well San and Yon are taking care of our cafè, and we heard about the movie so here we are stud!" Gogo winked.

"Why do I get the feeling that's not the entire story…?" Kurogasa deadpanned with a sweat drop.

"Well… I have an ulterior motive…" Zero said softly.

"Does it have to do with what Ni said on the phone? Trying to steal me away…?" He deadpanned further.

"Oh you know Ni, can't be trusted." Zero said caressing Kurogasa's cheek. Kurogasa fought the urge to facepalm at the entirely weird situation.

 _'What the heck is going on here?!'_ However he blushed when he noticed Zero leaning in. "S-Shiro, what are you doing?!" He backed off. "I- But in a quick second she pecked his lips.

"THAT DOES IT!" Erina shrieked, ready to maul Shiro. She wasn't going to let this stand!

"Oi, Na-chan! Ochitsuite!" Kurogasa scolded.

"Ohh want to make a threesome?" Gogo giggled and winked at the honey haired color girl.

"NO!" Kurogasa and the Nakiri cousins shouted in unison.

"Boo…" Gogo pouted as Shiro winked at the boy.

"L-Look, how about we all just go see the movie." Kurogasa stuttered.

"Okay… let's get a nice _big_ popcorn bucket for Kurogasa~!" Gogo said and Alice blushed and smiled at the idea.

"I'm buying~!" The albino girl said with a trail of drool running down her cheek.

 _'What is_ with _those girls?'_ Kurogasa thought.

"Perverts." Erina and Shiro said in unison, before looking at each other then turned away. "HMPH!"

"Oh boy…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

* * *

And so the five of them went to the theaters and showed their tickets to the booth before they bought snacks and sat in their seats, watching the movie. Erina was too enarmored watching the movie.

"Don't lose EMU~!" Erina shouted with other fans when the character almost lost his way.

"Heh… haven't seen her like this in a while." Kurogasa chuckled.

"Yeah…" Alice said sweetly with a kind smile towards her cousin. "I haven't seen her smile like that… in a long time. Ever since…" She trailed off.

"Ali-chan?" He turned to her, a bit concerned.

"Hmm?" She turned with her comical eyes and smile, "Oh nothing~ hey, aren't you supposed to wrap your arms around your girlfriend right about now~?" She said leaning towards Kurogasa.

"Eh?" He blinked.

"Maybe plant a… kiss?" She said winking at him.

"Don't push your luck…" He deadpanned with a sweat drop.

"Please~?" She said looking hurt and meek… Kurogasa's two main weaknesses for white haired girls. "I'm not… sniff… cute enough~? Sniff…" Alice asked as she secretly pinched her butt hard to create tears in her eyes.

"A-Ali-chan, no, stop, don't do that! You know I hate it when you do that!" Kurogasa complained. "Doooooh, why me?"

"Please?" Alice said now with quivering lip. "She's not looking…"

"Dammit, fine…" Kurogasa gave up before slowly leaning in…

Closer…

Closer…

Closer…

*BONK!*

"ITE!" Kurogasa winced in pain.

"ITA~I!" Alice cried out as well as they saw Shiro holding a kendo stick.

"No PDA in the dark."

"Don't even think about it, Ku-kun…"

"Hai…" Kurogasa and Alice said in unison. Gogo was completely ignored as she stuffed popcorn in her mouth while continuing to watch the movie.

"This sucks…"

Suddenly everyone in the thearter was looking at her…

"I meant the popcorn."

Soon the glares were gone and Gogo breathed out, "Whoo… wasn't up for a gangbang."

* * *

After the movie was done, the five of them went out of the theaters and Kurogasa had an idea. "Hey, how about we get something to eat? We can stop by Shishou's place." He suggested.

"Sure."

"Sure."

"Sure."

"Sure."

Kurogasa eye twitched as he saw the two girls besides his girlfriend and cousin of said G.F., was still here. "Why are you still here?"

"Why not?" Shiro asked.

"Look, Shiro, Gogo, I appreciate you guys coming out to spend time with me, but… I want to spend time with Erina." Kurogasa said.

"Ahem!"

"And… Alice too…" He relented.

"Thank you~!"

"And we can't spend time with our _childhood_ friend… who I might add forgot to tell his _wife_ that he changed his mind about high schools?" Shiro said with a smirk.

"WHAT?!" Erina shrieked.

"I-It's not what it sounds like!" Kurogasa stammered.

"Oh so that promise about me making you my husband was a lie?" Shiro said still holding that smug smile as she watched Erina blow up.

"Ku-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun?!" Erina growled as Kurogasa completely paled, he hated being put on the spot and this is the exact thing he didn't need!

"A pity, since he always sleeps next to me before he left."

…

…

…

And that was the final nail the coffin…

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Erina shrieked and pounced on Shiro as the cat fight began.

"NA-CHAN! SHIRO! STOP!" Kurogasa panicked.

"No, let them fight!" Alice said.

"HAAAAAAAH?!"

"Aww you angry that your boyfriend was seeing someone with more… stack?" Shiro said flipping her hand elegantly, as she dodge a punch from Erina.

*BOING~!*

Erina eyes glared with flames as she saw the breasts that Shiro had bounced and jiggled with each movement…

"S-So what?! Looks aren't everything!"

*BOING~!*

"Well, I am a better conversationalist, dancer, musician, singer, and-" Shiro said almost getting nailed by a hook, "Fighter too. Speaking of which…"

"Eh?" Erina said as she was on the ground and Zero was on her side twisting her arm. "OW!"

"Give up?" Shiro smirked.

"Shiro stop!" Kurogasa shouted.

"Why? She attacked first." She said once again twisting the arm. "Right~?" She said with a small smiled to Erina as if playing around with her.

"ITE~ ITITITITITITITITE~!" Erina cried comically.

"I SAID STOP!"

*SLAP!*

"Ah…" Shiro let go of the girl, to feel something hot on her cheek… gingerly she touched it to wince in pain.

"Hah… hah… hah… hah… hah… hah… hah… hah… hah…" Kurogasa panted heavily, his head bowed down, and his hair covering his eyes.

"Kuro… you…"

"Ku-kun?" Erina got out.

"The only reason… Na-chan was who she is…" He said, before lifting has head up with anger in his eyes. "It was all because of her abusive father! Don't blame it all on her for being socially awkward!"

"Hmph, fine… Guess my pains aren't as painful as hers…" Shiro said before walking away while holding her cheek. "Later…"

"Sis, wait, you need ice on that quick!" Gogo said chasing after the younger girl, but not before looking at Kurogasa with a disappointed smile, "You of all people, should know when she was serious or not…" She said before walking after Shiro.

"Kurogasa… you didn't need to do that." Erina said softly, hoping that she didn't end a friendship.

"But I love you and only you, Na-chan…" He said. "I just…"

"Why do I always find you when you're about to cry my student?" A male voice echoed into the area.

Kurogasa and the cousins turned to see who it was, "S-Shishou?" He gasped.

"Sigh… my home is near. Let's go there." The man said as he walked on already.

*THUD~!*

"Ah, Erina!" Alice gasped out as Erina fainted once more.

"Tendou… Tendou…" She blushed out with mini-hearts in her eyes.

* * *

After Erina woke back up, the three of them followed Tendou to Bistro La Salle who were greeted by the owners of the restaurant and Tendou whipped up some food for them to eat.

"Here, your albino friend dropped this for you." Tendou said passing Kurogasa some playing cards, and other things. "Said that it was in your old desk in school, and wanted you to have it back."

"I didn't do anything~" Alice said acting all innocent.

"No the other one… the more or less mature version of you." Tendou deadpanned.

"Mou~" Alice pouted.

"Thank you…" Kurogasa trailed off, looking sad. "I made a girl cry didn't I Shishou…" He said ashamed.

"Yes… Yes you did." Tendou nodded, not pulling back any punches.

"And I have no one to blame but myself."

"Affirmative."

"And she was doing me a favor even though I up and left without a word."

"Quite."

"And I slapped her for playing around with Erina."

"Correc- …What?" Tendou said not losing his serious face… if anything it made Kurogasa shrank in size.

"I have no right to call myself a man anymore…" Kurogasa mumbled.

"By all rights, as your Shishou… I should beat the living crap of you." Tendou said sipping his green tea gently.

"Hai…"

"But… I don't have the heart to do it… Erina-chan? Slap him."

"Eh?" Erina blinked.

"Slap him. I can't do it. So you do it."

…

…

…

…

*SLAP!*

"OW!"

"Good… now that we got that out of the way." Tendou started, "You will help Kurogasa with his friendship,"

"H-How am I supposed to do that?"

"You're both adults, you can do it." Tendou said as he looked at the clock, "I'll be back, I'm going to pick up my sisters." And with that, Tendou got up and left the restaurant.

Kurogasa sat there in silence with his head bowed down before saying, "Ali-chan… can you leave for a moment? I need to talk with Na-chan… alone…"

"Sure…" The girl said leaving not willing to deal with emotional baggage.

"Ku-kun?" Erina said worried. "What's-" Before she said anything else, Kurogasa hugged her.

"I'm sorry…"

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen…" Kurogasa muttered. "It's just… when Shiro tried to make her advances… I was afraid… I was afraid to lose you again… Ten years was already enough. I couldn't bear that pain again…"

"I know you would never leave…" Erina said holding him. "But… I was only afraid that you might choose her over me… she does seem… better than me with less family problems."

"No," Kurogasa looked up at her, with tenderness in his eyes. "You're the only one I need. You're perfect to me in every way. I would never leave you."

"Thank you… but like I said it was just a feeling… I felt…" Erina blushed as she averted her gaze from Kurogasa's eyes. "Challenged… when she kissed you."

"Na-chan…" Kurogasa said, before holding her. "Don't say that. I-"

"No I mean… it's a girl thing. You wouldn't understand." Erina covered her reddening face with her hands.

"What are you talking about?" He asked confused.

"I… think she was testing me on if I loved you…" Erina now slammed her head on the table as steam came out, causing Kurogasa to let go of her. "And I passed… but I think you thought she was… and you were… and I was… uuuuuuuu~!" She whined out deeply.

"You mean…" Kurogasa got out.

"I couldn't back down, I have a bad habit of taking challenges… wait… what did you _think_ I meant?" Erina said her head shoot up comically as if daring Kurogasa to say something stupid.

"I-I don't know." Kurogasa raised his hands. "I'm stumped as _you_ are."

"Mmh-hmm~…" Erina raised her eyebrows as Kurogasa coughed into his hand.

"W-Well, I… guess we got that out of the way."

"So… who is this girl?" Erina asked finally realizing she didn't get a proper explanation.

"Shiro Ongaku." Kurogasa sighed. "Another one of my childhood friends along with her sisters before meeting you and no… I didn't date her."

"But she said-"

"I know, but we really didn't do anything"

"But-" Erina said again totally lost. "Marriage…?"

"We were roleplaying as husband and wife when we were kids. We didn't actually get married." He sighed.

"Roleplaying…?" Erina blushed as she lay head down. "I can't believe she got me like that." Kurogasa then lifted her head up and kissed her much to her confusion and surprise. "Ku-kun?"

"I'll love you and only you Na-chan… nothing will ever change that." He smiled gently, caressing her cheek

"Thank you…" She said softly, holding his hand.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the couple, Tendou watched from outside the window.

"I take it was a success?" Shiro asked, leaning against the wall with a smirk.

"Yes… you're an evil woman you know that?" The man said nearly smirking at the girl.

"What can I say? Hanging around five sisters that annoy you can do that."

"Ehehe, all this so you can watch the man you love be with someone else… says something about you doesn't it?" The man raise an eyebrow as Shiro blushed and glared at him.

"I only wanted him to be happy. Nothing more." She huffed.

"Haha, not what I meant, guess you're still a kid." Tendou chuckled as he walked away. "Try not to get between them in bed."

"I would never!" She stomped her foot.

"Hahaha…" The man chuckled leaving a fuming and blushing Shiro.

* * *

The next day had come by and Kurogasa, Erina, and Alice had already returned from their date. Sort of. As of now, Kurogasa was in the Sushi RS with the Nakiri cousins with Kurogasa preparing and making them sushi for lunch.

"Here you go," Kurogasa smiled presenting them a set of sushi.

"Oooooh, it looks so artistic!" Alice said with sparkles in her eyes. "I don't want to eat it because it's too beautiful!"

"Ali-chan, it's just lunch." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"But you made it look like art, aww, I guess you were thinking of moi~!" Alice said leaning in to kiss Kurogasa. But Erina pushed her down back in her seat.

"Down girl, heel." Erina deadpanned.

"Boo," The whitenett pouted at her cousin.

Just then the doors to the Sushi RS slid open.

"Irrasha-" Kurogasa began as he turned around, but the moment he did, his sixth sense started to kick in to overload. The person who entered the Sushi RS had hair styled like a mohawk, with his crest being black, while the rest is gray. He also has a horizontal scar starting and ending over both his cheeks and runs over the bridge of his nose. He also always appear with his eyes closed, not even opening them at least once. He wears a standard Tōtsuki uniform, but slings the coat over his shoulders like a cape and does not wear the standard tie. He has large earrings and carries a large sheathed sword.

"…" He looked around as he saw Kurogasa. "Art thou the head of this establishment?"

"U-Um… yes." Kurogasa gulped.

"Saito-senpai," Erina gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Might I partake in some of thy cuisine?"

"Does anyone have a dictionary?" Alice said jokingly.

"Na-chan, do you know this guy?" Kurogasa asked his girlfriend.

"He's part of the Elite Ten,"

"N-Nani?!" Kurogasa gasped in shock, looking at the said person in question.

"What Erina-dono hath said is correct." The male said.

"…Seriously can you speak Japanese!?" Alice yelled out comically.

"Allow me to introduce myself"

"Tōtsuki Jyukketsu…"

 **遠月十傑**  
Tōtsuki Elite Ten Council

 ***CLAP, CLAP!***

"Dai Goseki… Saitō Sōmei…"

 **第五席** **:** **斎藤 綜明**  
Number 5: Saitō Sōmei

 ***GONG!***

 _'N-No way… Number 5?'_ Kurogasa thought with wide eyes.

"Okay there… sheesh is it really that hard to speak normally for you!?" Alice asked as Sōmei shrugged indifferently.

"I live by the code of bushido, the way of the samurai." Sōmei explained before turning to Kurogasa. "I have heard of thy exploits in this school. They have called thee the "Conquering Sushi Shogun", correct?"

"They have." Kurogasa said, still feeling unnerved.

"I see." Sōmei nodded. "I too share the same cuisine as thee."

"What?" Kurogasa gasped. "Your specialty is sushi?"

"Correct. May I partake in some of the cuisine? I wish to sample thy food. Thy Heaven's Roll shall suffice."

"My Heaven's Roll?"

"Yes. I have heard that Erina-dono has… ascended to heaven upon tasting it." Sōmei said, making Erina blush heavily.

"Oi, do the rest know about this?!" She demanded as Sōmei just looked at Kurogasa. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"Alright, you might have to wait a bit. Is that fine, senpai?" Kurogasa smiled earnestly.

"It is fine… I thank thee." The man nodded kindly to the boy before taking a seat on the floor and leaning against the wall.

With that, Kurogasa had set to work on making the said Heaven's Roll.

Kurogasa filled his cast iron skillet with approximately 1cm of fryer oil put it on a medium heat. After heating it up, he added one cup of flour, an egg, and one cup of ice cold water to a bowl. He whisked it until all of the lumps were dissolved before adding the remaining amount of flour into a bowl by itself. Next he unwrapped the crab sticks and placed them on a plate. Then picking up a crab stick and squeezing it with his thumbs, he made the individual lines of the crab stick separate. Holding on to one end, he gently slapped the crab stick against his other palm.

Once the strings are mostly separated, Kurogasa coated them in the flour. Then, he dipped them into the tempura batter and made sure that any excess batter was allowed to drip off. Kurogasa then gently dipped the crab strings into the hot oil, making sure to place them loosely. The goal was to try to make a web of these strings that will large enough to cover a sushi roll. He repeated the steps until he fried all of them. Once the crab strings have turned a nice golden brown, they are ready to be removed. He used a pair of large chopsticks to set the fried crab strings onto a paper towel to allow for the grease to drain.

Now he had to focus on the shrimp. First, he soaked the bamboo skewers in water for at least 5 minutes. After the skewers have soaked, he skewered the shrimp from head to tail. Then he brought a pot of water to a boil and boil the shrimp for roughly a minute.

Kurogasa then added additional oil to the skillet. And after boiling, the removed the skewers and shells. He then poured approximately two cups of panko and 1/2 cup of coconut flakes onto a plate. He mixed them until the coconut flakes are evenly distributed. Then using the same flour and tempura batter, he dipped each shrimp into the flour, making sure to shake off any excess flour, before dipping it into the batter. Then he rolled them around the coconut panko until it's completely covered. He then carefully placed each shrimp into the hot oil to fry for about ninety seconds, or until golden brown. He then removed the shrimp using a pair of tongs and allowed them to cool off on a plate with a paper towel underneath them.

Now it was time to make the roll. First he added a handful of seasoned sushi rice to his nori. Then he flipped the rice mat over and added two coconut shrimp to the center. He then noticed that the shrimp weren't quite long enough to reach the edges of the nori, so he sliced them diagonally and slid them apart just a bit. He added a piece of asparagus and a few pieces of avocado. Then rolled up the maki, placing one piece of the crab strings on top of the roll. Next he placed the makisu on top of the crab strings, firmly pressing down and formed the crab strings around the roll. Then he cut the rolls into even pieces. He then grabbed a lemon and sliced off one then slice the lemon again in half, giving it the shape of a half circle and he made a few, thin, slices of the lemon that were about 5-8 mm thick. He sliced each of those slices into pie wedges and place one wedge on each piece of the sushi. To add the finishing touch, he drizzled his special sauce, sprinkled some finely chopped green onions, and added a dash of seven spices that were already mixed in.

"Omatase shimashita." Kurogasa said, presenting the said plate.

The older male nodded and said his blessing as he took the first piece while giving it a deep look, "…"

"Is he just going to stare at it or eat it?" Alice huffed a bit.

"Just watch." Erina hissed.

"The stickiness of the rice has kept the sushi in perfect form." Sōmei commented. "The toppings are distributed evenly and the proportions of each ingredient are balanced." He then looked around at the roll itself. "The presentation of the sushi on the plate is eloquent as well." He looked at his piece of sushi before biting into it. He slowly chewed, slowly getting the taste of the sushi in full. "Mmmmmmmmmm… I can see why Erina-dono has ascended to the heavens. The taste lives up to its namesake and reputation. As excpected of the Conquering of the Sushi Shogun."

"T-Thank you, senpai." Kurogasa smiled a bit.

"However… it is not enough."

"!" Kurogasa's eyes widened at that.

"Thou art skilled, far more than I see so far, but I shall show thee pointers in making this and teach new kinds of sushi." The teen said standing up scaring Kurogasa from the height and confidence he held. "That is with thy permission, I do not want to make thee angry."

"I…" Kurogasa was speechless. His Heaven's Roll was the best in his arsenal of dishes, and it wasn't enough? He looked to his girlfriend, "W-What do you think?"

"I think you should take it, unlike the others, he actually is a nice guy… to my knowledge." She explained.

Kurogasa nodded, before turning to Sōmei and bowed. "Onegai shimasu! Please teach me!"

"Very well. Watch as I do this, young man." He said as Sōmei went to the kitchen and prepped his dishes.

* * *

Sōmei taught Kurogasa the ways of the sushi late into the night and he has learned so much, taking many notes, and practicing various techniques. Kurogasa was actually thankful that Sōmei was willing to teach him. Sōmei even went as far as telling him that in the Sushi RS, that they were both equals and that his status as an Elite Ten member do not matter. It was only a relationship between senpai and kōhai. As of now, Kurogasa was walking Erina back to her mansion, hand-in-hand and he had a smile on his face.

"Well, I guess the Elite Ten aren't all bad as I thought they were." Kurogasa chuckled sheepishly. "Saitō-senpai was actually willing to help."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Erina said dangerously to her boyfriend.

"N-Nothing! I was just surprised." He waved his hands frantically. "I shouldn't be judging a book by its cover."

"Alright… isn't that someone from your dorm?" Erina said as Ryoko ran up to them.

"Kurogasa! There you are!" Ryoko said, as she panted slightly.

"What's wrong?" Kurogasa asked. "Everything okay?"

"We got Nero and Bea on video chat, they have some ideas for you and something as a warning." She said taking Kurogasa's and Erina's hands as she ran towards their dorm.

"Ahhhhh, chotto!" He cried out. "Ryoko, what's going on?" Kurogasa asked.

"MOU~ JUST COME~!"

* * *

"ARE YOU OKAY!?" Megumi asked/yelled seeing a bruise and bleeding Shiki.

[ _"Huh? Oh yeah, fine here."_ ] He said as he dab a white clothed over a bad cut. His window showed a dark background with Kishi wearing some kind of cloak. [ _"Just some superficial bleeding."_ ]

[ _"Da~hahaha~mn, you are so effed up!"_ ] Bea giggled as her window finally pop up, as her background was a normal living room. [ _"The hell happened to_ you _?"_ ]

"Ryoko, slow down! I'm already here!" Kurogasa's voice called out as they were now in the dining room with Erina in tow.

[ _"Oh hey Kurogasa."_ ] Shiki greeted casually as Kurogasa gap at his face.

"What the heck happened to you?!" He shouted, "And… wait, Megumi-chan? When did _you_ get back?"

"Just now." Megumi said meekly.

[ _"I think I became a became a leader of a underground mafia… I think…"_ ] Shiki said as he turn back with a glare, ["Oi, keep it down and bring some Summer Whiskey!"]

["HAI, Bosu!"] Hundreds of voices yelled as Shiki looked back. [ _"So what's up?"_ ] He asked with a shrug.

"What's up? Ryoko came running to me like someone's dying!" He snapped comically.

[ _"Oh that's from me."_ ] Bea said, [ _"Making a ruling here, no one is allowed to use sweets in their curry. I finally found a good combo now!"_ ]

…

…

…

…

"That's it?" Everyone deadpanned.

"What's… going on here?" Erina asked, still confused as to what was going on.

[ _"Oi,_ you _try doing something unique, with captain screams-a-lot next to you!"_ ] Beatrix glared at Kurogasa.

"Ugh… okay, fine, now what's this warning I've been hearing about?" Kurogasa groaned.

[ _"Ah right, apparently some monster is going to be a possible taster."_ ] Beatrix said as she lay her hands on her head, [ _"Sensei says that this guy is one the few people that scares even_ him _."_ ]

"Who are we talking about?" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

[ _"OI LIVEBEARER-SAN~!"_ ] Shiki screamed out as a giant man wearing a red chef outfit appeared.

"What the-!"

[ _"Yes? Shiki-sama?"_ ] The man said giving a disturbing large black-tooth grin, making everyone watching it shudder.

[ _"Who was that guy again? You underworld guys know right?"_ ] The new leader said, stunning everyone… HE WAS THE TELLING THE TRUTH!?

[ _"The man who walks the path of Heaven, Tendou Souji! Is going to be the judge of your school competition."_ ] The man said with his mouth drooling at the thought.

…

…

…

…

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

* * *

 **Fen:** And there we go… another chapter down… finally.

 **AQ:** Yay…

 **Fen:** And yes we introduced Sōmei, 5th Seat of the Elite Ten early, but there was a good reason. If you haven't read the manga, or the wiki, he specializes in sushi as since Kurogasa also specializes in sushi, I thought it'd be great that we establish some sort of relationship between these two.

 **AQ:** Yeah, since he's not a jerk like the rest of them.

 **Fen:** Well, some of them aren't jerks, like Erina and Isshiki, but hey, we'll take what we can get. Anyways, we'll see you on the next Main Course… hopefully sooner than later…

 **AQ:** Probably not…


	14. Dish 14

**Fen:** WE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

 **AQ:** My fault people, me and King were going through some terrible times and it severely delayed this fic. We apologize greatly.

 **Fen:** You and me both. Last year was definitely a difficult time for both us.

 **AQ:** Now onto the chapter, I got a date with a killer! Time to kill an immortal zombie.

 **Fen:** Let's go!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

It was deeper into the night as Kurogasa was in his room on his laptop having a video chat with his Shishou.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU THINKING, SHISHOU?!" Kurogasa yelled comically.

[ _"I have my own life, you know."_ ] The man said while eating a piece of salmon.

"But why are you coming to the Autumn Election preliminaries?!"

[ _"To judge your friends. Don't be alarmed, I'll go easy on them."_ ]

"Besides the obvious! And that's not the point!" Kurogasa snapped comically, having sharp teeth and soulless eyes.

[ _"It's to see if you're fine against the competition, I don't want you to have a panic attack. I do care about your well-being."_ ] Tendou said setting his chopsticks to the side. [ _"Besides, you're dealing with an Indian dish, and they were pretty vague about the topic."_ ]

"Ugh… don't remind me…" Kurogasa groaned, slamming his head on the table. "Rice with curry is one thing, but the whole thing in general is completely different."

[ _"Remember my lessons Kurogasa…"_ ]

"Hai, hai…"

Suddenly music started playing as Kurogasa wonder if Jun was nearby… "Speaking of… what's with Jun-senpai being all lovey-dovey with you?"

Kurogasa never thought one thing in his life… seeing Tendou coughing from drinking his tea.

[ _"*COUGH~!* Jun-Jun is there?"_ ] Tendou asked slightly paling at the name.

"Yeah. She's a teacher at the school, head of the Shiomi Seminar…" Kurogasa raised an eyebrow.

[ _"T-To answer your question Soma's father was… allowing Jun to try some of his food-"_ ]

"Yeah, she told me as much… that's why she hit Soma's face from three different camera angles…" Kurogasa deadpanned.

[ _"I felt bad and gave her mine… and it led to her stalking me a bit."_ ] Tendou coughed into his hand while slightly blushing.

"Really…" Kurogasa said, before his eyes widened, "Masaka! Moshikashite-"

[ _"Finish that sentence, and no God alive will fix you after I'm done!"_ ]

…

…

…

"Hai… sumimasen…" Kurogasa muttered.

[ _"So how are things? My sister is upset that I didn't make you see her."_ ]

"Which one are we talking about? Hiyori-san or Jyuka-chan…"

[ _"Does it matter?"_ ] The man said smirking.

"Well, it's either one or the other. You tell me." Kurogasa deadpanned.

[ _"Sigh…"_ ] The man shook his head at the obvious joke he was trying to make.

"Sorry… stressed out." Kurogasa sighed too. "Anyways, I'm doing fine and I'll make it up to them someday. By the way, you set up that whole thing with Shiro didn't you…"

[ _"Probably…"_ ] The man smiled as he looked away, [ _"Looks I need to cut this short. Be well and I hope that your studies are going well."_ ]

"Yappari na. You-"

*CLICK!*

"Ugh… and he hung up on me." Kurogasa grumbled.

*RING, RING*

"Hm?" Kurogasa blinked before looking to his phone to see that Erina was calling, before answering, "Na-chan?"

[ _"H-Hey, Ku-kun, are you still up?"_ ]

"Yeah, what's up?"

[ _"N-Nothing. Just… thought I wanted to say good night."_ ]

"Well that's rare of you to do that over the phone." He chuckled.

[ _"It's just I feel that I should tell you good luck…"_ ]

"I know." He smiled. "Saito-senpai's teaching in my rice cooking boosted my confidence for sure. I'll be fine, Na-chan. Don't worry."

[ _"Ok… still, good luck and… I love you."_ ]

"Love you too, Na-chan." He said, before hanging up.

* * *

 **(Cue Rough Diamonds by SCREEN MODE)**

 **(Instrumental)** The first three beats of the instrumental show Soma and Kurogasa in poses before the song starts picking up at the fast pace. The two boys glowed golden surrounded by fire as various pieces of food flew upwards before the flames covered the screen, changing to a scene of the 92nd Generation Prodigies in silhouettes, walking towards the camera as the title card appeared for a moment before the flames overwhelmed the screen and changed scenery.

 **(Omoi egaiteru IMEEJI yori haruka~ mukou~ gawa e~)** The scene shows various screen shots of Soma, Joichiro, Erina, Megumi, Alice, Ryo, Marui, Shun, Yuki, and Ryoko all looking at the camera with various experessions on their faces.  
 **(Tsukuri agete yuku shinjitsu wa mada tooku~ hatena~i tabiji~)** The next scene then showed various screenshots of Takumi, Isami, Hisako, Mito, Akira, Jun, Isshiki, Eizan, Shiki, Beatrix, Tendou, and Kurogasa all doing the same thing as the first batch.

 **(Tagai no PURAIDO wo togi sumaseyou ze)** The next scene then changed to show various characters in the form of alumni, teachers, other support characters, and the headmaster of Tōtsuki Academy.  
 **(Kotoba nante kazari wa hadakesaserya ii)** The scene then changes to four women alumni of Tōtsuki Academy before changing to Erina who looks to the sky with a look of content on her face.

 **(Butsukariai, migakareteiku~ Rolling Stone~)** On each beat of the music, we see various scenes of the cast and the various events that happened during their time at the Academy before it switched to Soma and Kurogasa who had their backs towards each other surrounded by various chef students ready to take them down, but they smirked at each other before they charged at them ready to take the challenge.

 **(Deai wa SHOCKWAVE! SHOCKWAVE! Mada shiranai sekai e~)** The next scene then shows various students standing on top of floating kitchen knives in the sky, that were all pointed towards the sun.  
 **(Aruki hajimeta, mubou na chousensha sa)** Soma, Megumi, Shun, Ryoko, Marui, and Yuki stood on their kitchen knives on one side while Ryo, Takumi, Alice, Hisako, Shiki, and Beatrix were opposite of them and the two lines of knives clashed and parried against each other,  
 **(Te ni shita yaiba de ashita wo kirihirakeba iin darou?)** Akira stood on top of a large cinnamon stick and waved his hand forward and golden beams of light shot of the cinnamon sticks striking the other kitchen knives down.  
 **(Dareka no mono ja nai… jibun dake no STORY)** But Soma's and Ryo's survive as they flew towards Akira's cinnamon stick and clashed. Soma, Ryo, and Akira then noticed one more kitchen knife floating in the sky, showing Kurogasa standing on it with Erina looking on at him.

 **(Cause we're still ROUGH DIAMONDS on the ro~ad!)** Kurogasa then jumped off doing a corkscrew flip then pivoted his body to dive down for a flying kick. As he dived down, a faint image of a certain red-armored beetle warrior overlaps him as he kicks the screen causing it to turn white and the screen shattered into pieces revealing a group shot of silhouetted members of the Elite Ten with a dark figure towering over them with a sinister smile before the scene changed to a group shot of the 92nd Generation Prodigies to end the song.

* * *

 **Dish 14:** Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice

It was now finally the day of the 43rd annual Autumn Elections. After many weeks of preparation for this day, it has finally come. All of the students all gathered at the Autumn Elections hall, where normally the finals would begin. However, for now, it will be used as a meeting place for said contestants. As everyone walked on their way towards the main hall, Kurogasa had met up with Mito, Nao, and Miyoko, Shiki, and Bea.

"This is it, guys." Kurogasa grinned dangerously. "You all ready for this?"

"Yeah." Shiki nodded.

"Hopefully." Beatrix admitted.

"What do you mean by that? You were all confident that you somehow mixed curry with your desserts on the video chat."

"It works but against five amazing people and Tendou? Sigh hopefully I'll do better the side characters…"

"Wha?" Kurogasa blinked owlishly.

"Nothing," Beatrix waved off.

"I know I'm ready." Mito grinned. "I got the perfect Don I'll be making."

"And hopefully impress Soma with?" Kurogasa teased.

"S-Shut up~!" She growled at the male.

"I-I…" Nao stuttered.

"Doushita, Nao-chan?" Kurogasa asked.

"I… I might have resorted back to my old ways for my curry…" She admitted.

"You wha?" Kurogasa gawked. "W-Why? I thought my food-"

"I-I know, but for me to make good grade I have to use my old ways, my new aromatic and sweet smelling ways aren't polished enough to be used yet."

"I… I see… just please don't turn back to the Boiling Witch you were back then…" He shuddered. "I'd rather not remember that."

"I-I won't, i-it's just for today!" Nao shouted with a blush.

"Good."

"I know my curry dish is gonna dominate the competition for sure." Miyoko smirked.

"Still having that kind of mentality, huh Hojo?" He sweat dropped.

"Hey you promised that I can still work on what I use for my cooking." The girl said with a confident smirk.

"True, just try not to outdo everyone."

"No promises."

Soon, the group arrived at the Autumn Elections Hall where all the competitors were there. Inside was a huge stage in the middle of the floor with a table on there, surrounding the floor were the bleachers resembling to that of a sumo dojo and upstairs were the VIP seats. And above that, were portraits of all the First Seats of each generation since its founding. "Whoa… this is huge." He said, looking around before seeing the photos. "Whoa, there's Gin-senpai, and there's Shinomiya-senpai's too! Ah! And there's Shishou's!"

"Yo!" Soma's voice called out, as Kurogasa turned around to see Soma, Megumi, Yuki, Ryoko, Shun, and Marui.

"Hey, Soma, Megumi-chan, Minna." Kurogasa said. "You guys ready for this?"

"N-No!" Megumi cried as she saw Tendou sitting in his chair. "Y-Your teacher is here!"

"Wait, what?" Soma blinked, before turning to Tendou, "Oh hey, what's up?" He waved, being his carefree self.

"S-Soma-kun!" Megumi panicked.

"Soma… is your father still impulsive?" Tendou answered without turning his head.

"Hehehehe, oh c'mon you know how he is." Soma laughed, waving it off like it was nothing.

"Sad to say that is true…" The male said as he noticed a short woman holding a large banner that said 'TENDOU-CHAN IS NUMBER 1!' "Oh dear…"

"Is that Jun-senpai?" Kurogasa mumbled.

"I better get going." Tendou said, before briskly walking away, hoping to avoid Jun. "I hope I will safely reach my judging seat without getting attacked…"

"Yukihira! Kururugi!" A new voice called out, as they turned to see Takumi and… someone they almost didn't recognize as he was thin but the brown hair and blue eyes look familiar. "Today, we're gonna see who-"

"Huh? Is that you, Isami?" Kurogasa interrupted.

"EHHHH?!" Everyone else asked shocked. The thin man next to Takumi was Isami? But they were so used to his heavyset persona.

"Don't ignore me!" Takumi said comically.

"Yo skinny!" Beatrix patted the boy. "Your metabolism back up?"

"Uh-huh." Isami nodded.

"Lies! It's all lies!" Soma cried out comically, pointing at Isami accusingly. "There's no way that's Isami!"

"Must be nice to be ignorant." The girl said with a soft smile. "Guys, this really is Isami. He loses weight around the summertime. So this is perfectly normal."

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be back to my normal weight come fall and winter." Isami assured.

"Huh…" Soma simply said. "Well that explains it."

"You just now realized that?" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"KUROOOOOO~!"

*POW!*

"Ooft!" Kurogasa was pounced again by a familiar white-haired girl. "Ow, nandayo Ali-chan…"

"Hello lover~!"

"Na-chan's still my girlfriend." He sweat dropped.

"Must I break the puppy eyes?"

"No ma'am…" He admitted, before they got up. "So, you're in the same group as me?"

"Nope, but Ryo-kun is!" Alice chirped, gesturing to him.

"Sup?" Ryo said lazily.

"H-Hey." Kurogasa laughed nervously.

Ryo just blink blankly as he nodded.

"Well, Kurogasa-kun, how nice to see you." Hisako's voice said, as she approached him.

"H-Hisako-san." Kurogasa laughed nervously. "So, you're in the Autumn Elections, huh?"

"Of course I am. And I intend to make Erina-sama proud." Hisako said, before leaning towards him dangerously with a threatening look. "This also gives me the chance of possibly defeating you in the main tournament if and when that happens." She muttered darkly.

"You're still that protective over Na-chan?" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Of course, I have been her steward since I was a young girl!"

"That doesn't mean you have to follow her all around all the time. It'll make even Nao in her Boiling Witch persona look decent."

"I promise myself I would always be by her side, because she is my most precious person." Hisako said sweetly.

"Why do I get the feeling you put that in the wrong context?" He sweat dropped larger.

Suddenly, the light went out with the stage only for the lights to be shining on the stage. "Everyone, eyes on the stage!" Urara announced. "We'll now have the opening speech by the current director of Totsuki Academy, Senzaemon Nakiri!" At the point, the old man, came to the center stage, with his stern authoritative look.

He took a whiff of air, before suddenly choking and coughing, "Excuse me. Sorry, I choked on something." He said, before clearing his throat.

"Ha the old man…" Kurogasa joked.

"When I breathe the air here, I can feel the energy coursing through me, body and soul." Senzaemon began. "This is the Hall of Heaven and Moon! Under ordinary circumstances, only the Elite Ten may use this space to challenge each other in Shokugekis! To show our respect to the countless victors who have won the first seat, it is tradition to display their portraits!" He said, as the lights shone on the pictures. "Countless unforgettable battles have been fought, and countless specialties have been born here! That is why the memory of the neverending battles fought here hang in the air like fog!"

"Even though he kinda coughed." Yuki quipped.

"Shh!" Ryoko shushed.

"And this is also where the main tournament for the Autumn Elections will be held!" Senzaemon continued.

"So in other words, only the students who pass the prelims…" Marui began.

"Right. Only they can stand on this stage to fight." Shun nodded.

"You will all make a new mark on history here!" Senzaemon declared. "Let us meet here again, chefs of the 92nd class of Totsuki Academy!" That made the students cheer loudly before he left the stage.

"We'll now explain the rules for the preliminaries!" Urara said, "As indicated in our written notice, the topic is a curry dish. You have two hours. Out of the sixty candidates in the preliminaries, only eight total may advance to the main tournament. In other words, only four from each group."

"Before you all start… those who don't have at least 35 points… will be automatically expelled." Tendou announced from his pedestal, surprising the students. "Also, let's make this interesting. Let's make ten total advance to the main tournament. Five from each group."

"S-Shishou?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"Can he do that?"

"No way, he can't!"

"Why would he?"

"O-Oi, you can't-"

"APPROVED!" The headmaster yelled.

"WHAT?!" Everyone asked shocked.

"Oh no…" Kurogasa deadpanned. "Shishou's lost it…"

"W-Well… anyways, candidates please proceed to your group's designated spaces! The preliminaries will begin at 11 o'clock!" Urara stated. No less than what the girl was said… the students flipped out and went crazy! It looks like the new rules caused others to become loose in the head! And they all went out of the Hall to go to their places.

"Welp, this should be interesting!" Soma grinned.

"I really hate your teacher now…!" Beatrix grumbled.

"Don't look at _me_!" Kurogasa defended, raising his hands. "Wait, shouldn't you be happy that he increased the odds of people entering the main tournament?"

"No, because I could fail!"

"Okay, okay, my bad." Kurogasa raised his hands in defense.

"Yukihira! Kururugi!" Takumi said, pointing at the two. "You two better not lose!"

"Heh, I should say the same for you." Kurogasa smirked.

"Yeah, you got it." Soma grinned widely.

* * *

At exactly 11:00…

"CHOURI! KAISHIN!"

And so the cooking had begun and the competitors had set to work in preparing their ingredients as the crowd cheered. From off on one side, came a beautiful woman with a well endowed body figure, a buxom bust and curvy hips. Her eyes are noticeably sharper and she has long and wavy hair, separated into two sections at the roots, which fall to either side of her face. There is a beauty mark on her right cheek and her clothing is a high profile, silky dress.

"Oh great, it's them…" Tendou sighed.

"Welcome." Eizan greeted as he was overseeing as a host for the judges. "I believe we informed you that we would begin at eleven, Miss Natsume Sendawara?"

"Are you saying that, knowing full well how difficult it is to free even one minute of my schedule?" Natsume asked.

"No way! That's Natsume Sendawara!" One student cried out.

"The CEO of Haubi Foods?!"

"She has a monopoly on the curry business in Japan! She's the Queen of Curry!"

"And if we're getting her, that means Hall B is getting her twin, Orie!"

"Eizan-kun talked me into this." Natsume sighed as she sat down, "But can mere students manage to entertain me?"

"That and with him." The yankee pointed his thumb at Tendou who was desperately not trying to Clock Up at this moment.

"Ara, is that you Tendou-kun?" Natsume asked.

"Hello Natsume…" Tendou cleared his throat. "It's been some time."

"Hey what's that dust cloud?" Shiki said pointing a large dust cloud, "Wait… is that a woman?"

"TENDOU-SAMA~!"

"Isn't that- oh crap!" Tendou said kicking his chair over so he dodged a woman tackling his previous spot. The person in question possesses a well endowed body figure, with a buxom bust. Her eyes are much softer than her twin sister's, allowing her to charm men with her sweet personality and innocent appearance. Her hair is a blonde, straight, hime-style haircut and she possesses a beauty mark on her left cheek. Unlike her sister, Orie dresses much more modestly via a simple blouse. This was Orie Sendawara. "That was close…" Tendou sighed as he sat in his chair, even though he was now horizontal on the ground.

"Orie, what are you doing here?!" Natsume huffed. "Shouldn't you be at the other hall?"

"Shut up Onee-san, I want to be here with Tendou-sama~!" Orie demanded with a pout, "I won't judge otherwise, I won't let Onee-san win!"

"Hell no, I got lucky, so respect it!" The older sister yelled back not noticing Tendou crawling away from them.

"This is the reason why I don't judge here." He grumbled for once.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going?!" Natsume and Orie shouted at the same time at Tendou.

"…I wonder if it's too late to become a Dark Rider…?" Tendou mused, "Certainly can live with it… but the others will hunt me… hmm…"

"Shishou, no. Just… no." Kurogasa shook his head.

"Fine, old man, I demand that all the students are under one battle arena! Hall A and B will be eaten alternatively. Unless you want them…" Tendou throws his thumb behind him to show comical dust fight between the Curry Sisters. "To mess up this fun time… please say no…"

"Hmmm… a very complicated situation indeed." Senzaemon pondered. "And the other hall have just started cooking as well."

"They didn't." Orie replied as she had her sister in a headlock… before punching her head.

"Ow!"

"Very well. Bring the contestants of Hall B in here!" Senzaemon ordered.

"Whoo-hoo!" Orie cheered… before punching her sister again.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT?!" Natsume shouted.

"Hehehehe…"

And so the members of Hall B moved to Hall A and the clock was reset ready to cook at 12 noon.

"So we're all together." Beatrix smiled as she looked to Megumi and Shiki.

"Yep. Heard that Tendou's got the curry sisters all crazy." Shiki chuckled.

"It seems Tendou-san definitely earned his rank." Megumi said softly.

"That's the understatement of the century." Shiki scoffed.

"Hey guys!" Alice said walking towards them.

"Ali-chan?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Yo~!"

"So I'm guessing you have something figured out for your curry recipe?" he asked.

"Yu~p, and no one is going to come close to beating it~!" The whitette said with a cute smile. "Maybe except you, Koko~!"

"Oi, Ali-chan…" Kurogasa blushed.

"Koko?" Megumi blinked.

"Dude, you have some explaining to do." Shiki deadpanned.

"Why should I?" Kurogasa huffed. "She's my childhood friend like Erina."

"Then that's fine, just try not to cheat." Shiki said with a frown. "That's not fair, okay?"

"I'm _always_ faithful to Erina!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

"J-Just saying."

"So we meet again, Kurogasa." Hisako said.

"H-Hisako-san…" Kurogasa said nervously. "I hope you won't try to kill me during this whole cook-off."

"I won't, but I vow that I will get a better score than you." She warned with a smile, it wasn't threatening rather it was a bit competitive.

"We'll see about that." Kurogasa smirked a bit.

* * *

At exactly 12:00…

"CHOURI! KAISHIN!"

And so the cooking had begun yet again and the competitors had set to work in preparing their ingredients as the crowd cheered. Kurogasa watch as his friends and rivals all work seriously on their dishes almost like this was life or death… He saw Beatrix cutting chocolate into small pieces as she ate them, shaking her head each time when tasting her curry. The young girl has place some place some chicken breasts into the pot as she added some of the chocolate shavings. She then went to take out some flour and other ingredients before starting to make a pastry of some sort. The young sweets master carefully mix it as she slowly added more flours, salt, pepper, and others to make sure it was perfect to her.

"What is she doing?" Natsume asked. "Clearly curry and sweets don't together, the curry will overpower the sweets."

"That is where you are wrong." Tendou said, as he pointed at Shiki, "Look at the boy, he is too also doing the same thing."

The man pointed at Shiki who crack apart a bar of chocolate to drop a bigger half of it into his curry mixture before adding some pink dust and other species. He smiled before going to mixing bowl and like his friend started to make a pastry base when using eggs, flours and other basic baking ingredients.

"So what?" Orie asked with a pout.

"Watch and you'll see." Tendou said.

"Hmmmm…" Orie pouted, before noticing Takumi. "Takumi Aldini… he's from Italy isn't he? It looks like he's making fond from beef shank and chicken bones. It's nothing new."

"His younger brother's the one next to him." Another judge said, he is an elegant gentleman in his 30's and wears a professional suit and rectangular glasses. His name is Shingo Ando, one of the best food critics.

"That is correct, I have dined in their restaurant many times." Tendou said drinking some water.

"Isami Aldini… He's covered the bottom of his pot with tomatoes." Ando added.

"Tomatoes are a staple in Italian cuisine isn't it? I'm sure he knows all about it." Orie said, before she took a whiff from another station. In this case, it was from Yuki's station. "Hm, this peculiar, insistent fragrance… it must be from spices being sauteed in duck fat!"

"Keep it up! Yoshino!" Daigo and Shoji cheered from the sidelines, waving the Polar Star flag. Yuki smiled at them giving a peace sign.

"Oh, look there. What is she making?" One judge asked, looking at Hisako's cooking. He was an obese businessman with a bald head and a beard around his chin. This was Osaji Kita, a renowned entrepreneur and a founder of his own Gastronomy Club. His reputation in both his wealth and influence has made him a celebrity in the cooking industry. "Even though spices are supposed to be sauteed in fat, in theory, she just threw them into water!"

"Hey look! Alice Nakiri's doing something totally different from the rest!" One audience member said, as Alice was stirring something in her bowl. "A quick-freeze machine and a centrifuge? I have no idea what kind of dish she'll be making!"

"She seems to be having fun…" Kurogasa said. "Oi, Ali-chan! I hope you're not playing with your food over there just because of your toys!"

"I'm no~t!" She waved back to him sweetly, "I'll make some leftovers for you~!"

Meanwhile, on another part, Nao had started stirring her black roux in a large pot.

"Oh no, don't tell me the Boiling Witch is back!" One panicked.

"No, not the smell! It's not cooking, it's black magic!"

"Bleh…" The cooker said to herself, "I can't believe I actually like cooking this way." She stuck her tongue cutely as she continued onwards. Meanwhile, Miyoko chopped a pineapple in half and her expertise in Chinese cuisine, cooking her rice with heat added onto it.

"That's the heir to Hojo-ro, a famous restaurant in Yokohama's Chinatown." Ando said. "Many of the spices used in Chinese cuisine can be used in curry."

"It'll be interesting to see how she'll finish up her dish." Kita replied.

"It's true there are some students who look interesting… but I'm not sure about that girl with two braids." She said, pointing to Megumi who was suddenly panicking.

"Oh boy…" Kurogasa sweat dropped. "She's totally losing it… Oi, Megumi-chan! Get it together!"

Shiki turn his head to looked at Megumi, "Come Megumi-san, you can do it!"

"H-Hai!"

Meanwhile, Mito was searing a huge slab of meat and used hua jiao, a spice that can remove gaminess from the meat and she only ground it coarsely so it retains its rich fragrance. And of course, Kon'nishi was acting like a father attending her daughter's sports festival, which irked Mito a bit, but ignored him anyways.

"Yosh… all the prep work is done…" Ryo said lazily, before he took out his red bandanna. Upon wearing it… "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He yelled, suddenly grabbing a knife and a boiled lobster and started slicing like a mad man.

"What the-!" Kurogasa gawked. "Oi, Ali-chan, why did Ryo go 180 on the personality?!"

"That's how I train him, don't worry, it's totally canon~!" She said with an ok hand sign.

"Don't break the fourth wall! That's Bea's job!"

"No it isn't!" The sweets lover threw a ladle at Kurogasa which comically hit his head and return to Beatrix.

"ITE!" Kurogasa cringed before sighing, "Ugh… why me?" He groaned, before starting his own work.

First he melted butter in a medium saucepan over high heat. He then added the onion and cooked for about 2 minutes until it was soft. Then he added the rice and stirred to coat the grains in the butter. Next, he added the coconut milk, salt, pepper and 1 cup of water before bringing it to a boil. He stirred once, then covered the rice, and reduce the heat to medium-low, letting it cook for about 16 minutes until it was tender.

Next he preheated the oven to 300 degrees F.

One that was done, he spread the cashews on a baking sheet and let it toast in the oven for about 8 minutes until it was lightly golden brown. Once it was done, he let cool and then finely chopped in a food processor.

Then he removed the rice from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes. He then removed the lid, and fluff the rice with a fork, folding in the green onions and half of the cashews. He then let it sit 5 minutes more. As it sat more, the fragrance of the rice hit the judges' noses.

"Oh my… this mellow scent, it's…" Orie moaned.

"As I thought he chose that route, good if it pays off my young student." Tendou said with a warm but accepting smile.

"Hm, I guess I would be entertained a little." Natsume smirked, "So Eizan-kun, who's your pick?"

"Hmmm…" Eizan pondered. "It's hard to tell from all these competitors, however, there _are_ two people who I wish to assess in full." He added, glaring at Soma and Kurogasa.

"Yosh… this should be good." Kurogasa said to himself, as he looked over to his fellow classmates. "They seem to be doing well…" He added, before looking to Soma who was… sleeping?! What the heck was he doing?! "OI! Soma, wake up! This is no time to be sleeping!"

"Ah right we're in a battle!" The boy said waking up from his slumber. "And besides, this is done." He said, as he lifted up the lid of his pot and a strong fragrance came out of it. Akira caught the scent and was surprised at what he was smelling.

"Hey look!" One student noticed, seeing what Soma was simmering in the pot. "It's rice! He's cooking rice with the vegetables and spices!"

"Soma, you…" Kurogasa muttered with surprise, noticing the smell too.

"Your pot…" Akira began. "You've added a paste of apples, bananas, and carrots, making the rice creamy, and similar to a risotto."

"Heh, spot on. I knew your nose would catch on to that." Soma grinned.

 _'No… there's something else, some other secret. There's something behind this complex fragrance, even though he's not using anything special for spices.'_

"Well wait and see, Akira, because my cooking is just getting started." Soma smirked competitively.

"Hey look some dude is presenting his dish!" Beatrix points her chocolate covered knife forward to see a teen no one in their group seen before.

"Wait, he's already done with his dish?" Shiki got out.

"Ohh, he's fucked sideways." Alice giggled.

"Oi, Ali-chan, language!" Kurogasa scolded. "I thought your mom taught you better than that!"

"She did, that's why I know it~!" The albino girl winked at her crush.

"That's not the answer I'm looking for!"

"Tee-hee~!"

"UWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA~!" The audience suddenly cried out in shock. The contestants looked confused as to why they were aweing. When they turned to the source, they knew the reason why. Megumi had unleashed her secret weapon: a monkfish.

"That's a monkfish!"

"Is that girl crazy?!"

"What's she gonna do with it?"

"She's gonna prepare that?!"

"M-Megumi-chan?" Kurogasa gasped with complete utter shock.

"Kurogasa, work on your things, Megumi can handle herself. If she brought it out, then it means she can do it!" Shiki yelled to the boy as he kneaded some large amounts of dough.

"She's gotta be crazy…" Hojo muttered in surprise. "It takes significant skill to butcher an entire monkfish while it's hanging and unstable. Can she really do it?"

Megumi placed her hands together in prayer, praying that she would be able to do this right. _'Kurogasa and Soma-kun have always been positive no matter the situation. They've always helped me. Right now, they're fighting their own battles. I don't know if I can do this on my own, but I want both of their courage today.'_

Shiki smiled as he glanced up before seasoning his dough once more, "Knock them dead Megumi…"

When she was done praying, she lifted up her head and opened her eyes, filled with determination before she put on the gloves and grabbed the knife.

 **BGM: The Secret Ingredient Called Victory**

And just like that, she started cutting that monkfish like a professional. First she cut the skin off the monkfish before peeling all of it off. She then opened up its belly side letting the blood drip out of the bucket that was below before taking out all of its innards one-by-one with expert precision before cutting up the rest of the meat, leaving no scraps behind. This shocked everyone in the audience, including the judges. Heck, even _Tendou_ was impressed.

"Such skill in such a tiny girl." The beetle rider chuckled at the determine look from the braided girl. "And they say big things come in small packages, she's the definition of that with her cooking."

"Megumi-chan…" Kurogasa muttered in awe, before he started chuckling, and then turned into a laughter, having a wide smile on his face. "Yooooosh! Now I'm fired up! Ikuze! Clock up!" He shouted, before he became a blur.

"Heh, copying my skill rather well…" Tendou said before looking at the nameless student that walked to him. "Instant 0."

"WHAT?!"

The competition continued on and at Kurogasa's station, he heated a small sauté pan over low heat. After it heated up, he added the allspice, cloves and fennel and toasted them, shaking the pan occasionally, for five minutes until he could smell the spices. Then he removed from the heat to let it cool slightly. Once they were cool enough, he transferred the spices to a coffee grinder and finely grinded it until it was fine enough to combine the ground spices with the curry powder in a small bowl.

Once that was done, he heated the oil in the large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it began shimmering. He then seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper and then 1 tablespoon of the curry spices, tapping off any excess before putting them in the oven. He made sure to brown the chicken on all sides for 8 minutes before removing them to a plate.

Now for the complex part. First he added the onion to the Dutch oven and cooked for four minutes until it was soft, then he added the ginger and cooked for another 30 seconds, then added the remaining curry spices and cooked it for 1 minute. Then he added the tomato paste to cook for another minute.

Next he added chicken stock, coconut milk, salt and pepper, cooking it for ten minutes until it was slightly reduced, before adding the cinnamon sticks and mango, cooking for another ten minutes until slightly reduced again. Now he turned down the heat to low to add the chicken, cooking it for about 15 minutes until it was tender. Once he poked the chicken with a thermometer, seeing it was the right temperature, he removed the chicken to a bowl and discarded the cinnamon stick and mango pieces.

For the final steps, he added the dried coconut and the remaining 1/2 cup of cashews cooking it for ten more minutes until it slightly thickened. He then removed them from the heat, returned the chicken to the pot and folded in the green onions, cilantro and mint and, seasoning with salt, pepper and honey.

*DING DING DING!*

"And stop your cooking! Step away from your stations!" Urara announced, as the competitors did so.

 **End BGM**

* * *

"Whew! What a rush!" Soma grinned to himself.

"Hmph…" Shiki grunted as he looked at his uncooked dough, "Perfect."

"I just want to get this over with…" Beatrix groaned.

"As I said before…" Tendou voice boomed into the room scaring everyone from the power in his tone, "Those that have less than 35, are automatically expelled. Now…" A cruel smile was on his face as he took his seat, "Let's begin the game…"

"Oi, shishou…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"We'll now enter the judging phase!" Urara announced. "We have ten judges. Each will have ten points, so each dish will be assessed out of hundred potential points. And as Tendou-senpai has said, only ten candidates can advance to the main tournament!"

"You should consider this an honor that I'd be eating your dishes. And once I finish, I can put you to shame." Tendou said.

"Hawawawawawawawawawa!" Megumi freaked out. _'Why does he have to be scary like Shinomiya-senpai?!'_

"Oi, Shishou!" Kurogasa snapped. "Stop scaring everybody!"

"Who cares about some no named chef!?" A prideful student cried before he was silenced by the twin's stare at the poor fool.

"Now then… let's begin."

And so the judging the went on, and sad to say, the first few students couldn't even get past the 40's.

"33! Fail! You're expelled!"

"28! Fail! You're expelled!"

"31! Fail! You're expelled!"

"6! Fail! You're expelled!"

"Dammit, Shishou's being relentless…" Kurogasa groaned, his eye twitching.

"Tendou-sama~!" The twins sighed dreamingly as Tendou looked down on the students from his literal high chair.

"The harsh scores continue to rock the arena!" Urara said, "Up next…" She began, but before she could say anything else, a very pungent smell rose through the entire area. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!" Urara muffled out, covering her nose.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! What's this stench?!" Orie cried out, covering her nose.

"Where's this horrible smell coming from?!" Natsume groaned, covering her nose too.

"Looks like Nao's up next." Kurogasa cringed, trying his best not to puke as Nao came up to present her dishes. "Ali-chan! Mask! Quick!"

"Gah~!" Nao made a disgusted face as she looked extremely guilty, "I swear, this is my last stinky dish!" She said, before presenting the said dish. "H-Here it is, my jet-black curry laksa."

"AHHHHHHH! She's back! The Boiling Witch is back!" Urara cried out. "We have Hell on Earth erupting here in the arena!"

"Laksa…" Ando got out, covering his nose with his handkerchief. "A Southeast Asian dish known for its exceptionally slippery noodles. The black color of the roux may be from squid ink, but…"

"This overpowering odor… could it be?!" Kita freaked out.

"It's kusaya…" Nao said timidly.

"Yappari ka!" Kita snapped comically. "How dare you use such a thing in curry?!"

"Kusaya…" Ando went on. "A famous dried fish from the Izu islands. Saltwater in which dried fish has been submerged for decades, a brining solution known as kusaya is used to flavor blueback fish such as sardines and the fish are then dried in the sun. It's very pungent…"

"I-I used flying fish, mahimahi, and the kusaya brining solution that I've cultivated carefully for a long time while I was… the Boiling Witch." Nao explained.

"Zero points! Zero!" Kita shouted, "I've eaten all kinds of delicacies, but this-" He then stopped when he saw Orie taking her chopsticks. "L-Lady Orie, are you serious?!"

"You can't be!" Even her older sister Natsume was shocked. "It smells like an unscrubbed toilet with the bitter acidity and fishiness!"

"I'm merely fulfilling my obligations." Orie gulped. She fought the urge to puke, but she bravely slurped in the noodles, chewed it thoroughly, and swallowed it. "Huh?! It's delicious?!"

"HUH?!" All the judges looked shocked.

"But it reeks! It stinks to high heaven! But I can't stop!" Orie cried out as she slurped more noodles. "It's somehow delicious!"

"No way, there's just no way!" Natsume said, before she started tasting her own bowl of noodles. "What in- this is…" She got out.

"I see." Tendou nodded, after tasting it. "This is not so different from using fermented shrimp paste, kapi. By using kusaya, which is far more pungent than kapi, she deepened the flavor. It also pairs very well with laksa, which uses fish stock."

"Oh my…" Kita got out, as he ate his portion. "The umami of all the seafood fills my entire mouth- how delicious! The more I eat, the more pleasant this odor actually is!"

"And the use of coconut milk and spices like lemongrass has broadened its flavor!" Ando added. "By highlighting kusaya as the main ingredient, she has strengthened the umami of the curry many times over!"

"I'm a prisoner of this smell! I can't stop!" Orie cried out, slurping more of her noodles.

"And boom goes the dynamite." Tendou sighed as they others reached their climax…

"That was… rather disturbing…" Kurogasa shuddered.

"I don't feel proud from this…" Nao sighed at her old style getting praise.

After their… experience… the judges typed in their scores…

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 8  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 9  
 **Shingenoshin:** 8  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 8  
 **Ando:** 8  
 **Kita:** 8  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Nao Sadatsuka:** 84 Points

"W-What?" Nao stuttered in shock as was everyone.

"Whoa… she actually scored pretty good." Alice blinked.

"You get to stay." Tendou said with a small smile.

"T-Thank you…" Nao said.

"O-Okay, while we have the ventilation system at full blast, will the next contestant please come forward?" Urara said, as Hisako now walked forward.

"P-Please… cure them…" Nao begged Hisako.

"Because you changed for the better… I will." Hisako said, before she presented her dish to the judges. "Please enjoy."

"Hmmm… the roux isn't very thick, and there's lot of it. Is it something like a soup curry?" Orie commented.

"The meat is mutton." Kita noticed. "It has a stronger flavor than lamb. I guess the spices have removed the gamey odor. Well let's try this." He said, before the judges started eating it. However upon tasting it, Ando suddenly stiffened. "Ando-sensei, what's the matter?"

"Hoo…"

"Hoo?" Natsume raised an eyebrow. And then it happened. With a loud roar, Ando's body suddenly buffed up, ripping all of his clothes on top, and showing a very muscular body!

"UWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!" Ando roared.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Everyone cried out in shock.

"Nani?!" Kita shouted in surprise. "Ando-sensei's normally a dried-out stick- you can barely understand anything he's mumbling! I don't understand what just happened, but he's all energized- he could star in a kung fu movie now!"

"Whoa…" Tendou said as he was also surprised at the ripped man. it reminded him of Haruto with that Excite Ring.

"This distant fragrance…" Ando said, as he moved his arms in a Tai-chi way. "It's based on four medicinal plants: dongdanggui, Szechuan lovage, dihuang, and peony root."

"Wait, those spices… Masaka…" Kurogasa said, in shock, looking to Hisako. "You made the Four Substance Decoction!"

"Medical cuisine is my family's roots." She said with a kind smile. "In addition to the four herbs, I added kyo'o, daikyo, and shouikyo, to create an original medicinal spice mix. I steeped these spices for approximately an hour to extract their active ingredients. I then added vegetables and mutton, and simmered them until tender. Finally, I added Shaoxing wine and coriander to heighten the fragrance."

"Turmeric, Star Anise, and Fennel." Tendou noted. "All are essential in curry. You decided to capitalize on it by connecting medicinal cuisine with curry. A Four Substance Decoction Mutton Curry. Not bad at all." He smirked. "After eating this dish, Nao's dish was just mere crude shock to the senses. No offense."

"N-None taken…" Nao mumbled.

 **Judge 1:** 9  
 **Judge 2:** 9  
 **Judge 3:** 9  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 10  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 10  
 **Kita:** 10  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Hisako Arata:** 92 Points

"Whoooooooa! Look at that!" One student shouted.

"A score that's finally in the 90's!"

"No small wonder, since she's been acknowledged by Erina-sama as a chef!"

"She surpassed Sadatsuka's score with ease!"

As Hisako walked towards her station, she glanced at Nao who bowed deeply at her, "T-Thank you!"

"Of course." Hisako smiled kindly.

"Now then will the next contestant please come forward!" Urara announced. The next contestant to come up was Ryo Kurokiba. He prepared for the judges French Curry Lobster Rice with Cognac.

Tendou smiled at the food, "It looks rather well."

"Ah…" Koda said. "The contrast between the flame red color of the lobster and the vibrant yellow of the saffron rice is beautiful. The lobster's immaculate, with no damage to the legs and antennae."

"Indeed." Makito added. "This delicate and elegant plating is surprising, given his dynamic cooking style."

"This flavor…" Natsume said, after tasting it. "It's like… I'm in a deep forest. The base is Sauce Americane, a French sauce made with the shells of crustaceans. This deep fragrance of trees… is coming from Cognac!"

"Isn't that some kind of high-quality brandy in France, shishou?" Kurogasa asked.

"Yes. I tried it on a regular basis for social events."

"I'm surprised you haven't gone drunk from it." He deadpanned.

"I always drink with modesty." Tendou said. "Still… this cognac, he used the best one, a Napoleon cognac. Not bad."

"W-Well, I suppose it's not bad. It's worth scoring." Natsume said.

"Ah, hold on…" Ryo said lazily as he checked his pockets before finding his red bandanna. The moment he put on, his personality took a 180. "It's not over yet! The tasting is not over yet!" He said, before presenting a tray of droppers. "These droppers contain more cognac! There's a part of the lobster you haven't tasted, it's what in the lobester's "head"- the tomalley!"

"Reminds me of a certain Gamer rider…" Tendou deadpanned witnessing the personality change.

"Put a few drops of this inside the shell, then slurp up the tomalley! Then… stuff your face with the roux and saffron rice! That's the best way to eat it!"

"W-What?" Natsume look appalled. "You would have me slurp in such a crude manner?!"

"Why the posturing?" Ryo cackled softly. "Just let your true nature show. Admit it… you want to slurp it down right this second! Come on~ do i~t! It'll taste even better~!"

Natsume and the other judges tried to restrain themselves, but the way he was tempting them to do it, made it that much harder, and so the judges did as told, putting a few drops of Cognac on the tomalley, slurped it up, and stuffed their faces with saffron rice.

Tendou already finished his dish without anyone looking at him, "Delicious."

 **Judge 1:** 9  
 **Judge 2:** 9  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 10  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 10  
 **Kita:** 10  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Ryo Kurokiba:** 93 Points

"No way!" Kurogasa gasped. Even Erina who was watching from the VIP box looked shocked.

"Alice… you…" Erina got out.

"Look at that!"

"It's one point above Hisako's score!"

"What a dark horse candidate!"

"My servant wins~!" The white haired girl sang out.

"The kitchen has been my battlefield for as long as I can remember!" Ryo cackled. "This is nothing!" He said, turning to the other competitors. Soma and Kurogasa looked dead serious at Ryo. This was real competition they were facing. The seafood specialist then took off his bandanna and went back to his dull self. "Whew… I'm done…" He said softly, walking past the others.

"What a high score! Now will the next candidate please come up!" Urara said. This time Mito presented her dish and it shocked the judges except for Tendou at what kind it was.

"I-It was an ambush…" Natsume got out, "I didn't expect such an amazing dish…" By the time Mito presented hers, she looked surprised. "Wha-"

"Saa… enjoy my curry dish." Mito said sensually. "Dongpo Pork Curry Don!"

"O-Oi, Mito…" Kurogasa gulped.

"Your tent is up." Tendou pointed at his student.

"Urusei, shishou!" Kurogasa snapped comically.

"Dongpo pork is a dish where pork belly is braised with soy sauce. But just look at the beauty of this meat! It's glistening!" Makito said."

"Because the meat and the fat layers alternate to form three layers, this cut is sometimes called, "three-layer meat"." Koda added. "Even the slightest touch on the plate sends the meat trembling! It has retained its shape despite becoming so tender. That shows great skill in controlling the temperature during cooking."

"Nice one, Nikumi." Soma said impressed. "That thick cut of meat soaked up a lot of the tasty broth."

 _'W-Wait, I'm… still recovering from that last dish, but now I have to eat_ this _?!'_ Natsume thought.

"What's wrong?" Mito asked Natsume, while chuckling. "Savor the meat in all of its ultimate glory."

Kurogasa nose was causally leaking blood as he sighed, "Phrasing."

The judges have eaten their share and they noticed that the meat was so tender and the gaminess of the meat was negated by the spices.

"It's easy to eat without much difficulty. The rice that contained a small amount of rock salt and tengjiao oil." Tendou said. "I see. After parboiling the pork belly, she browned the surface, then braised it with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine. And she used star anise, ginger, and huajiao for spices. You are worthy of the title, "Meat General"."

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 9  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 9  
 **Natsume:** 9  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Mito Ikumi:** 86 Points

"Crap, I didn't get in the 90's!" Mito gritted.

"I don't think your seducing would get you any extra points for that matter either…" Kurogasa deadpanned after wiping his nose.

"It worked on _you_." His shishou stated.

"Wow, nice going Nikumi!" Soma grinned stupidly. "Didn't think you'd actually take my lessons about the don to heart!"

She smiled kindly, "Hey it was good advice- oi don't call me that!"

"Too late for that," Soma snickered.

"S-Shut up Yukihira!"

And so the next contestants came up with their dishes. First was Hojo Miyoko who made a Pineapple Fried Curry Rice. Unlike any other fried rice, it uses the pineapple crown as design and the flesh is used as extra ingredients for the fried rice. A fragment of this dish is so good as it would make you think that it is an art itself! For that…

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 9  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 9  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Miyoko Hojo:** 87 Points

"Look at that! 87 points, Miyoko Hojo has taken a lead above Mito!" Urara announced making the crowd cheer.

"Fragrant with spices and spices, her Boluo Gali Chaofan is something I can't forget!" Orie said. "The sweetness of the fruit and the saltiness of the stir-fried rice fill your mouth. It's not dissimilar to sweet and sour pork, another Chinese dish made using pineapples."

"She finished the dish by putting the stir-fried rice into a hollowed pineapple, sealing it with a rind "lid," then baking it in the oven." Ando added. "She salted the sides of the pineapple dish in contact with the rice to control how sweet the rice would become."

"So that allowed her to transfer just the refreshing fragrance of the rice and prevent the rice from drying out." Tendou smirked. "Invincible and indominatiable… a kung fu master cloaked in a dragon of flame. An Iron Dragon Flame Girl. Heh… much like Ryuki."

"Hmph. It was nothing." Hojo smirked.

"You still haven't really beaten Ryo's score." Kurogasa mentioned.

"Don't make me choke you…" Hojo threatened.

"Hai…"

Next up was Yuki. Her dish was Duck Cutlet Curry. This dish combines the mouthwatering goodness of duck with the tempering influence of turmeric and orange. The judges enjoyed the flavorful wild game without being overpowered by the gamey smell! For her score:

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 9  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 9  
 **Natsume:** 9  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Yuki Yoshino:** 86 Points

"Yatta! I got a good score!" Yuki cheered.

"Wow, I must say!" Kita laughed heartily, after finishing his dish, "Your Wild Game Curry was delicious beyond my wildest dreams!"

"Thank you!" Yuki smiled brightly.

"From the fond you made from sauteing spices in duck fat, duck was everywhere in your dish! It'd usually make the dish way too gamy, but somehow you made it very fresh! And yet, it's full of unique wild flavor! And to top it all, you gave us a fried duck cutlet!"

"The gaminess has been well-countered by turmeric and orange. In French cuisine, it's traditional to pair duck with orange sauce." Tendou said. "So you used orange fruit and zest into the roux, and it paired well with a custom garam masala mix that she made herself. Nicely done." He smirked. "Your cheerful, open smile attracts everyone, and your cooking pierces right through people's hearts. I shall give you the title, "Little Red Riding Hood of the Forest of Wild Beasts"."

"Alright, this competition is heating up, will the next candidate please step forward!" Urara said. Following next was Ryoko. Her dish was Curry Soy-Natto Rice.

"Hm… it's dal… also called lentil curry." Makito said. "It's similar to chana masala. Wait, what's this 'slime'?"

"It's natto!" Koda noticed.

"The viscosity and umamu are coating my mouth." Natsume said, upon tasting it.

"No, it's not just any natto." Makito said.

"It's natto made over a charcoal flame: charcoal fermented natto." Tendou said. "She kept a charcoal fire burning in an underground chamber to maintain optimal temperature and humidity while soybeans were with the natto spore for several dozen hours. Am I right?"

"Hai. I used my summer break to make it." Ryoko nodded. "And the deep flavor you're tasting is my secret ingredient: soy sauce rice malt, a condiment."

"I see. And it has ten times more glumatic acid than salted rice malt. That's how you could add more umami without it being eclipsed by the strong curry flavor." Tendou nodded. "Otsukare, Ane-san."

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 9  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 9  
 **Natsume:** 9  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Ryoko Sakaki:** 86 Points

"Alright, Sakaki!" Shoji cheered.

"You tied with Mito and Yuki!" Daigo added.

"Mmmmm…" Ryoko frowned in disappointment.

"You okay Ryoko?" Kurogasa asked worried.

"Just a bit… disappointed that I didn't make it any higher."

"Hey it's fine. You did great." Kurogasa smiled kindly. "You should have me try it sometime."

"Y-Yeah, sure" Ryoko smiled back.

Next up was Marui and he presented White Potage Curry Udon, a curry using rich roux with the consistency of a vichyssoise. this curry is like a tranquil pond that can completely immerse people into its shallows.

"The noodles are udon. They've been kneaded with cumin. So this is your version of curry udon." Koda said.

"Hm… it's quite beautiful. Kurokiba-kun's dish was tumult of color, while this dish is like a tranquil lake." Makito said, before they all started tasting the dish and kept slurping and slurping and slurping.

"Wow… a plumped poached egg, creamy mashed potatoes, a generous amount of piping hot, melted cheese… this roux is like a vichyssoise!" Koda commented.

"Even though it seems thick and heavy, you can just keep going!" Makito said.

"And the udon's light because of the coriander, isn't it?" Natsume smiled. "It's known for its mild overtones, reminiscent of citrus, and its faint spiciness. The synergy between it and the cumin in the noodles is enhancing the fragrance of both."

"I also included dill," Marui said. "By roasting the seeds of dill and cumin together, you made a very fragrant soup. _'I don't have a keen sense for cooking. I get tired faster than normal people. That's all the more reason why I consumed as much knowledge as I could. I'm mediocre, but I've set my sights on reaching the geniuses!'_

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 9  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Marui Zenji:** 88 Points

"Oh yeah!" Shoji cheered.

"Polar Star is taking over the high scores!" Daigo cheered as well.

"Well done, Professor of Taste." Tendou smirked.

"Okay, now it's time for the showoff between the Aldini Brothers!" Urara announced. "First up, Isami Aldini!"

"Guess I'm first." Isami smirked.

"Yeah." Takumi nodded as his younger brother went to present his dish.

"Please, eat this before it gets cold." Isami advised.

"It's a calzone. A pizza dough folded in half and stuffed with filling. A typical Italian dish." Ando said.

"Whoa, look there's curry inside!" Kita said, upon breaking it. "This must be a Italian version of curry bread!" All the judges took a bite of it and the taste of tomatoes suddenly hit their mouth.

"The curry's overflowing with the rich, juicy flavor of tomatoes!" Orie cried out.

"Inside is curry made only using the liquid from the tomatoes themselves." Isami said. "And I didn't add any other liquid. If you add tomatoes tightly packed together at the bottom of the pan, they release a surprising amount of liquid. I added a special spice mix that pairs well with the tomatoes' acidity and it resulted in a rich curry full of the tomato's umami. As for the dough, I used the yeast we have at home."

"The surface is crisp, and yet when you bite into it, it's chewy and sweet." Tendou said. "Incorporating the Japanese curry bread concept into Italian Cuisine to make totally soemthing new. I give you the title of "Adventurer in New Culinary Horizons."."

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 9  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 9  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Isami Aldini:** 87 Points

"What a tight race!" Urara announced. "How fitting for a gourmet festival!"

"Nice job little brother." Takumi smirked. "But now it's my turn." He said as he went to present his dish. "Buon appetito!"

"A pasta dish, hm?" Tendou examined. "There's bacon, green bell peppers, and mushrooms. The toppings indicate spaghetti Napolitan, but he used curry instead of ketchup. And the pasta's shaped like fettuccine." The judges then proceeded to taste Takumi's dish.

"What the-! What's this deep rich flavor?!" Kita gasped.

"The stock's made from beef flank and chicken, and seasoned with fennel and green cardamom. The curry sauce is wonderful in the way it tickles your nostrils!" Ando said. "And it coats the noodles well! Wait, this flavor, this secret ingredient is tamari soy sauce! It's more concentrated than normal soy sauce, and known for having a sweet, mellow flavor!"

"I'm also tasting a mild cheese flavor." Tendou noticed.

"Allow me to explain." Takumi said. "Observe the cross-section of the pasta. There's three layers in the pasta. I incorporated turmeric in the outer layers and Parmesan cheese in the middle layer."

"I see. The tamari soy sauce and the Parmesan combined to create this much depth. Still, with the cheese in the dough…" Tendou said, before he struck of chord of realization. "Of course, by sandwiching the cheese layer between two layers, you prevented the cheese from melting and leaking out. You're a true "Pioneer in the World of Food"."

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 9  
 **Natsume:** 9  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Takumi Aldini:** 90 Points

"Look at that! A score in the 90's!"

"We have a tight competition!"

"He surpassed the ones that are in the 80's!"

"Grazie!" Takumi smirked.

"We've seen one high score after the other!" Urara announced. "Just how many more dishes must be tasted?! Will this trend continue?"

At this point, Shun went to present his dish. "Please, enjoy my special Smoked Curry." He said.

"The toppings are smoked bacon, smoked potatoes, and… smoked eggs?!" Shoji gawked.

"You can't just smoke everything and call it a day, Ibusaki!" Daigo cried out, but the smell was getting to them. "But it smells good though…"

"D-Don't forget the theme is curry! You can't just smoke everything and overwhelm the spices." Natsume said, before the judges tasted said curry.

"The dish was finished with coarsely ground cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, and cloves." Koda said.

"And apple wood chips were used to cure these ingredients, too." Makito added. "That's how he managed to avoid eclipsing the spices, and instead enhanced them."

"These coarsely-ground spices were also added to saumur liquid, which is used to brine the ingredients before they are smoked." Shun explained. "This was to infuse the ingredients with curry flavor."

"But how did you achieve cohesion between all the different ingredients?" Makito asked.

"He used smoked salt in the spice mix." Tendou said.

"What?!" The judges asked shocked.

"More specifically, he used seaweed salt. It's made by burning seaweed with high sodium content, dissolving it in water, then boiling down the supernatant. That's why the flavor is so rounded and mild." Tendou said, before saying to the boy, "Well done, Prince of Smoke."

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 9  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Shun Ibusaki:** 88 Points

"Good job, you two!" Soma said impressed.

"I've never seen the two of them like this." Ryoko smiled.

"So you finally show your true colors in front of everyone else." Shun said.

"Hmph. Look who's talking." Marui scoffed with a smirk as he adjusted his glasses. "You're the one who keeps his secrets close."

"I guess." Shun shrugged.

"Now then, let's have the next candidate present their dish!" Urara said.

Beatrix stepped up as she presented her dishes to them. The girl smiled as the judges had comical faces… totally blank. Why?

Pie…

A pie was staring at them…

"Pie?" Tendou raised an eyebrow. "Well that's certainly different. You _do_ realize that the theme is curry right?"

"I know sir… but I heard that as long it's curry… it's allowed." she stated kindly.

"I see. Very well." Tendou as the judges used their spoons to open up the pie.

"W-What is this?" Kita got out.

"There's… curry inside the pie?" Natsume questioned.

"What is this filling here?" Orie asked.

"Thai green curry." Beatrix stated, "But the rice is under it, but the proper way of eating it is taking some rice, curry and crust in one bite."

"Thai green curry." Ando said. "Its name derives from the color of the dish, which comes from green chillies. It's based on using coconut milk and fresh green chillies, and the color comes out creamy mild green."

"And it's usually consists of fish, fish balls, or meat, added together with green curry paste, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Even Thai eggplant, pea aubergine, or other green or whitish vegetables and even fruit are often included." Koda said.

"Correct…" She chuckled, "But I used caviar for the meat and frog legs!"

"Frog legs?!" Yuki gawked.

"Caviar?!" Mito added.

"And here I thought Nao was weird during her time as a Boiling Witch…" Hisako deadpanned.

"These frogs are from France, made to be eaten in 5 star restaurants. The meat is more lean and juicy when made into a curry." She explained her reasoning for her choice.

"But… where's your sweet aspect?" Kurogasa asked. "You make sweets after all."

"Eat and you'll find out!" She smiled for once looking earnest in her cooking. The judges all looked at each other before looking back at their pies. They then took their spoonfuls of rice, curry, and pie crust and put them in their mouths. And just like that, they all had shocked looks on their faces. Even Tendou himself had to stop himself for a moment to figure this kind of taste.

"Are… they okay?" Megumi asked.

"Well Tendou? Stumped?" Beatrix giggled good naturedly.

"Obaa-chan ga iteita: It's fun to add a secret flavor so that no one knows. But… it's more fun to find it."

"So you know… then tell us." She smiled at the man who nodded.

"Coconut milk and Mexican chocolate."

"Mexican chocolate?" Orie gasped.

"Yes. After all, chocolate originated in Mexico dating back to the Olmecs in 1900 BCE."

"Yes, but why Mexican chocolate?" The other sister asked.

"Using coconut milk made the dough more smooth and also add a nice flavor, which complements the unique flavor profile to it. The sweet spot is the dough that the milk and chocolate curbs the heat and spiciness of the curry. Yin and Yang."

"I see. That would explain how it complimented the creaminess of the curry." Makito nodded with a smile. "You have truly made something unique making curry into a dessert! Very creative!"

"I have to admit… even _I_ wouldn't be able to think of something like this." Tendou smirked.

Beatrix bowed respectfully at the judges. "Thank you."

After that, the judges put in their scores and…

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 9  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Beatrix Altair:** 88 Points

"Wow… I thought I scored lower…" the sweets maker stated.

"That was… actually pretty good Bea." Kurogasa blinked.

"The competition is starting to go into the final stretch! Who's left?!" Urara said.

"Ha~i! Here you go!" Alice said.

"Don't just serve them without permission!" Urara comically snapped.

"Sorry, I got tired of waiting." Alice sighed with a slight pout while having one eye closed. The audience looked amazed at what she presented.

The curry she made was a Thermal Sense Curry, but… well how could they describe it? It was too artistic!

"Ali-chan… is that… really curry?" Kurogasa asked.

"Of course it is!" Alice chirped. "Everything in that dish is curry!"

The judges all tasted the curry and-

"!" Everyone suddenly froze on the spot! The only one who's only able to move was Tendou who just blinked at the taste.

"S-Shishou? Are you okay?" Kurogasa asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tendou said, clearing his throat.

"What's going on?" He asked, as the judges were still stunned. "They're frozen in place! Ali-chan, what did you do to them?!"

"Oh relax, this happens all the time."

"THIS IS NOT NORMAL!"

"Um… I am not sure how to describe this…" Ando began. "There's warmth… and something cold…"

"The veterans of gourmet are all tongue-tied." Hisako said. "Does that mean that this dish is beyond even their comprehension?"

"The curry sauce is foamy and ever so slightly warm." Kita said. "It melts in your mouth… the tomato mousse is c-cold, and…"

"I added spices." Alice interrupted. "And solidified it with sodium alginate."

"Huh?"

"There's a mousse made from turmeric and frozen powdered foie gras. The white object in the center is a puree of potatoes and six types of cheese. Its ingredients have been flash-frozen, so it will melt in your mouth. Once you feel its coldness inside your mouth, enjoy the flaky pie crust. Flavored with coriander and other spices, the pie crust will cleanse your palate. It's thermal sense. One of the principles in molecular gastronomy, where you create a dish from components that consist of different temperatures."

"Molecular Gastronomy?" Kurogasa gasped.

"I see. No wonder I was left speechless." Tendou said.

"So… does it taste good?" Urara asked.

"It's delicious! But… I can't describe how delicious it tastes in full!" Ando cried out. This caused murmur amongst the crowd. Not even a gifted writer can describe how it tasted?!

"With spices at the core, this dish manipulates texture and temperature and makes them shine. It revolutionizes the entire field of cooking!" Orie said. "She would be a Global Innovator!"

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 10  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 10  
 **Kita:** 10  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Alice Nakiri:** 95 Points

"Uwhooooooooooooooooooooooa!" The crowd said amazed.

"95 points?!"

"That's the highest score in this competition!"

"This is incredible!"

"A-Ali-chan…" Kurogasa muttered in surprise.

"Ah mou~ Tendou, why didn't you give me the full 10 points?! I was about to get 100!" Alice comically whined throwing a comical fit.

"My highest score would always be five," Tendou stated. "Or did you not hear me the first time before this competition started?"

"Puku~!" Alice puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

"Oi, Oi, Ali-chan…" Kurogasa sweatdropped.

"Kuro! Try it!" Alice said, presenting him an extra Thermal Sense Curry.

"Eh?"

"See if this is worth ten points!"

"Wait, you… made this for me?"

Nodding sweetly she smile, "Of course, I can't let my husband starve."

"You're reading into this way too far…" He muttered. "But okay…" He said before taking the plate and setting it down. Grabbing a clean fork, he took the square piece and put it in his mouth. "MMMMMPH!" He muffled out before dropping his fork and stepping back. He panted heavily as he was blushing. "W-What the-!"

"Ah… I thought I tasted aphrodisiac." Tendou said with a smirk.

"W-What is this feeling? This… taste…" Kurogasa got out. "It's so… good… I haven't felt like this since… my first kiss with Na-chan…"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!" Erina gawked in comical shock.

"Ufufu… so what do you think, darling? Think it's worth ten points?" Alice asked.

"I…"

"ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!" Everyone looked to one side of the arena to see a blur of honey-blonde rushing towards Alice who then jumped up, ready to pounce her with her nails 'sharpened'. "STAY AWAY FROM KU-KUN!" Erina shrieked before-

*POW! BAM! SMACK! WAPOW! BOOM!*

The Nakiri cousins suddenly have a comical dust fight with stars, swirls, and body parts sticking out of the dust cloud.

"Hah…" Tendou simply mouth before looking at the meal. "Dinner _and_ a show."

"Na-chan!" Kurogasa got out as he and Hisako got in there and pulled her away from Alice who Ryo held the latter back.

"Erina-sama, get a hold of yourself!" Hisako said.

"Ojou-san, that's not nice of you…" Ryo said lazily.

"No…" Beatrix stated, "Let them tire each other out. Maybe we get some side boobs…"

"No Bea… just no…" Shiki shook his head.

At that point, Senzaemon had showed up. "I'll take it from here." He said before hoisting Erina over his shoulders.

"Ojii-sama! Put me down! I need to maul and scratch Alice's face beyond recognition!" Erina shouted, flailing about while trying to free herself from her grandfather's clutches, but Senzaemon kept his hold on her.

"Now, now, she didn't mean anything by it."

"I did!"

"And wasn't trying to steal Kurogasa away."

"Yes I was."

"You see?! Put me down! She needs to be punished!"

"Should I bring a whip?!" Beatrix asked.

"I give up." Shiki walked away.

"Perhaps you two need to be more disciplined." Senzaemon said before taking Alice off of Ryo's hands and hoisted her over his over shoulder and walked off.

"PUT US DOWN OJII-SAMA!" Erina and Alice shouted, but their grandfather tuned them out completely and walked them off with them in tow before finally putting them back in the VIP box, taping Alice to the couch with duct tape while letting go of Erina, but staying between the cousins to make sure they don't catfight again. The crowd could only look in disbelief and blank looks in their faces.

"Well… that was awkward. And funny." Soma snickered.

"Soma… not now…" Kurogasa muttered, after recovering from his… episode.

"S-Saa… will the next candidate please come forward!" Urara said, after that fiasco and Megumi timidly went to present her dish.

"Yoooooooosh! It's Megumi's turn!" A voice shouted. Megumi looked surprised as she turned to see the old fishermen from her hometown with a huge banner being waved, and they were all cheering for her.

"Minna!" Megumi gasped. "What are you all doing here?"

"We left the fishing to the young'uns so we can cheer you on!" The head fishermen said. "We wanted to see you up on the big stage! You can do it, Megumi! We believe in you! Show 'em!"

Megumi looked surprised, but now she has a little bit of more confidence to see this preliminary competition through to the end. "Un!" She then looked back to the judges and presented her dish to them. "It's… Monkfish dobu-jiru curry!"

"It's a hot pot dish where monkfish is the main ingredient, right?" Kita asked.

"Yes. A dish passed down by fishermen in Ibaraki and Fukushima prefectures for generations." Ando said, cleaning his glasses.

"A monkfish in curry. Just what is she thinking?" Orie muttered before they all tasted it. Upon tasting the food, all of them sighed in content.

"I see. So this is why you used monkfish…" Kita sighed happily. "The main characteristic of dobu-jiru hot pot is that monkfish liver is sauteed, then slowly dissolved! Miso and sake are added to the dissolved liver to form the base of the broth, but… this girl added spices to that mix, effectively creating a liver curry miso paste!"

"How addicting… the unctuous, deep flavor of the liver is a surprisingly good complement to the spices!" Orie added.

"Still, I must say… after the previous dish, it's all the more apparent to me that… how do I say it? It's a very "human" dish."

"The ingredients are monkfish meat, skin, and fin, and… hm? Kogiku pumpkin, Tachikawa burdock root, and Akasuji daikon!" Ando noticed.

"H-Hai! They're all ingredients that are local to my hometown." Megumi said. "I wanted to highlight their strengths, so I've been experimenting a lot. Curry is very assertive, so it was difficult to make it work with the sweetness and bitterness of other vegetables. But I realized I could use dobu-jiru monkfish liver, to take advantage of the spices and use the broth to bridge the gap between them and the flavor of the vegetables. I wanted to make the kind of curry where you can almost grasp how it feels to be in my hometown!"

"I see…" Tendou smiled. "Tadokoro…"

"H-Hai?"

"Your hospitality truly is special." Tendou complimented as the judges were putting in their scores. "Your kindness and your consideration for others are what truly make you shine. Like my student said during your battle with Shinomiya, 'No matter what condiment… what ingredient… there is something greater: the love of the person cooking.' You may feel that you're out of place, but you truly belong in the cooking world. Your time is now. It's time for you to leave the tiny world you first started in… and fly into the sky.

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 9  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Megumi Tadokoro:** 89 Points

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The old fishermen cheered.

"No way, she beat Hojo?!"

"She passed the prelims!"

"What an upset!"

"Heh… well done, Megumi." Shiki smiled.

"Yooooooooooooosh! Yatta ze, Megumi-chan!" Kurogasa cheered.

"ME-GU-MI! ME-GU-MI! ME-GU-MI! ME-GU-MI!" The fishermen cheered as Tadokoro smiled with joy while tears fell from her eyes.

"Hmph…" Hojo smirked, as she looked at the blue-haired girl. "I thought my only choice was to shut the men up by force. But thanks to my battle with Kurogasa… and what Megumi showed now… I think it's time I changed my ways."

"Now let's continue on with the judging! Who's next!" Urara announced.

Shiki was next up and walked up to the judges to present his dish to the judges.

Now once more… they had blank looks as they had a white ball of dough in front of them. Orie touched it and saw it bounce back almost comically. "Eek!"

"What… _is_ this?" Natsume asked.

"I still haven't cook it." Shiki started with a calm and lovely smile. "If possible may I do it? I didn't want to get it cold before severing you."

"But you had all the time to-"

"No, he has a point." Tendou said. "By the time he served it to us, it would've been really cold for us to eat since it would have been sitting there for so long. Go on. But make it quick, there are others that need to serve theirs."

"Already prepped it." Shiki said as he had large vat of oil next to him, crackling with hot boiling bubbles showing to the judges.

"Are you going to put those balls of dough into the hot oil?" Koda asked.

"Of course…" Shiki said placing a finger on his lips. "It's part of the aesthetics."

"GO MY SWEETIE!"

"Dad…" The teen groaned before placing each dough into the pot and quickly pull them out to show golden crispy buns. "Curry Buns!"

"Curry Buns?" The judges parroted.

"Yes. Please be careful though, it's hot." Shiki placing the now cooked buns back on their plates. The judges then used their knives to open it up and they seemed to shine from the cut before the curry started pouring out from inside.

"There _is_ curry inside the bun!" Kita said.

"How is this possible?" Ando asked.

"I made the curry warm then wrap the dough into balls, making sure that it would pop when being fried." Shiki explained.

"But what kind of curry that is filled in the bun is the question." Tendou said.

"Normal… with dark chocolate." The lazy chef said with a smirk.

"Dark chocolate?" Natsume gasped. "In curry?"

"You and Bea are giving us the craziest things ever." Kurogasa said. "But wait… where's the alcohol in all of it?"

"No alcohol, just chocolate. It was impossible to incorporate in this meal. And to answer your question, cocoa is used in India as legitimate spice."

"From the cacao bean." Tendou said. "When it's fruit is ripe and ready, that's when it can be turned to cocoa powder."

"Right… and its flavor profile gives a rich and deep depth to curry."

Shiki stated and bowed, "I hope you all like it."

"Yes… we did." Tendou said before the judges put in their scores.

 **Judge 1:** 9  
 **Judge 2:** 9  
 **Judge 3:** 9  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 10  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 10  
 **Kita:** 10  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Shiki Kishi:** 92 Points

"Whoa! Another score in the 90's!"

"Tied with that medicinal girl…" Shiki murmured as Beatrix hugged him.

"YOU DID IT!"

"Honestly I thought I was gonna score lower." Shiki shrugged.

"You _don't_ want to compete in the main tournament?" Kurogasa asked confused.

"I pull that food out of my ass. It was a last ditch idea." Shiki shrugged, "Was passing not competing. But oh well…"

"Now then the next candidate is Akira Hayama!" Urara said as he came up to the judges and presented his curry dish. However… it was not what they expected. It looked like some form of cupcake, but it wasn't even a cupcake to begin with. And the "lid" looks to be naan.

"I made enough for you and Kurogasa." Akira said, as he threw two spoons at them to which they caught.

"Heh~ what a coincidence. Same here." Soma grinned.

"Looks like I'm not the only one." Kurogasa said.

"Enjoy, and be careful, it's hot." Akira advised.

Kurogasa and Soma looked at each other before going to their respective portion of Akira's dish. The moment they and the judges cracked open the lid with their spoons, a huge explosive wave of fragrance suddenly came rushing out, covering the entire area.

"What the-!" Kurogasa got out.

"It's a fragrance bomb!" Soma said.

"Ho~?" Tendou raised an eyebrow.

"Contained by the "lid" is a luxurious curry full of umami from the kama!" Koda said, before taking a spoonful and tasted it. "No words can describe it!"

"His fragrance is his weapon, and he scored a direct hit with the judges, using it to full effect!" Mito gritted.

"I can detect cinnamon, fennel, and lemon grass." Makito said. "Wait, there's something else that unites them… what lies at the center of this fragrance?"

"Masaka… it's holy basil!" Natsume realized in surprise. "It's a fresh one!"

"What?!" Kurogasa gawked. "That's a spice that's considered an elixir of life to those in India! But fresh ones are nearly impossible to find in Japan!" He then turned to Akira. "How did you-" He then realized how. "Of course, you grew them at Shiomi Lab."

"Eh?!" Natusme gasped. "Shiomi… as in Jun Shiomi, an authority in spices?!"

"Hawawawawawawawa…" Jun suddenly shivered, not wanting to stand out in the crowd.

"Mattaku… no wonder." Tendou scoffed.

"The cultivation method is an industry secret, so I can't disclose that to you unfortunately." Akira said.

"It's a strong fragrance that really makes you want more." Soma said as he tasted his portion. "But that's not his only trick."

"What is this flavor that-" Kurogasa said, after tasting it. "Wait a minute, yogurt?"

"That's right, Kururugi." Akira said, making Kurogasa and Soma turn to him. "With a single misstep, holy basil can overwhelm over spices, but the yogurt mellows it out."

"Not to mention, the curcumin compound in spices aid the liver's detox functions." Hisako added. "When ingested with lactobacillus, in yogurt for instance, curcumin is more easily absorbed. He's truly thought of the nutrional aspect of it as well. A fearsome opponent indeed."

"Now then, will the judges please score!" Urara said. The judges did as told and the score was.

 **Judge 1:** 9  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 10  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 10  
 **Kita:** 10  
 **Tendou:** 5

 **Akira Hayama:** 94 Points

"UWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the crowd shouted in surprise.

"94 Points!"

"That's the second highest score just below Alice!"

"This is unbelievable!"

"Akira…" Kurogasa said wide-eyed. "You'd really go that far?"

"I fight for Jun. That's all there is to it." Akira said.

"The arena's still feverish from excitement, but now it's time for Soma Yukihira to present his dish!" Urara said as Soma went up to the judges and presented them albeit covered at first. After that, he gave the two extra ones to Akira and Kurogasa.

"Here you go. Eat up." Soma grinned.

"Uh… thanks." Kurogasa said, taking the dish.

"What's with that look on your face?" Akira asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I was just thinking how my idea wasn't so bad, after all." Soma grinned wider. He then took the lid off both plates to reveal…

"An omelette?" Akira asked.

"Wait, weren't you making a riso-" Kurogasa began, but then his eyes widened in realization. "Wait a minute, did you-"

"Dig in. Fragrance bomb, take two!" Soma shouted, cutting the omelettes in half and the judges did so as well and another huge fragrance bomb hit the entire arena.

"Oh! There's a risotto inside the omelette!" Koda cried out.

"The trapped fragrance's been released in an explosive burst!" Natsume cried out.

"You had the same idea as me?" Akira gritted.

"Yup, at least up to this point." Soma smirked. "This is my Curry Risotto Omelette Rice!"

"The rice enclosed by the egg is glistening!" Mito said.

"Just like my Golden Fried Rice with Fried Ribeye Steak Strips dipped in Shiitake Mushrooms!" he then looked to Soma with wide eyes and small pupils. "Soma, what are you-"

"What a rich fragrance! It makes you just smile without thinking!" Ryoko sighed happily.

"It makes you expect a flavor just as great as Hayama-kun's curry!" Makito said. The judges then proceeded to eat the risotto from inside the omelette and upon tasting it, they were hit with such an impactful taste! "What a striking impact! I taste a rich bouillon made from chicken bones and beef tendon. Umami from the ground beef and onions, sauteed in butter, suffuses the rice."

"The creamy risotto is in perfect harmony with the perfectly cooked egg…" Koda said happily.

"It seems this sauce is the clincher." Natsume said. "Based on oyster sauce, it's accented with honey. The mild acidity has quite the effect, making it a rich sauce. The sauce and the risotto create two layers of flavor!"

"As Hayama's fragrance bomb came out of nowhere, this one is an induced fragrance bomb. The outer and inner fragrances are mingling intermittently." Tendou said.

"But that's not the only source of the depth of this dish. This fragrance and faint bitterness comes from cumin and cardamom…" Akira said as he tasted his omelette. "And cloves, which cause a faint tingle on the tongue. My nose is only scratching the surface. But what's the secret to this depth of flavor?"

"Mango chutney…" Kurogasa realized.

"Mango chutney?!" Natusme gasped.

"Chutney is a paste, right?" Isami asked.

"It's a condiment made by mashing up spices with fruits and vegetables, then simmering the mixture down." Takumi explained.

"There are many variations across Asia, depending on the combinations used. Some are sweet or spicy, while others use mint." Jun added. "But…"

"This is my house blend mango chutney." Soma said, holding a jar of the said paste. "I added it when I simmered the rice. The mango ties all the spices' individual flavors together, and provides an even deeper depth of flavor to the dish. You could say it's an applied technique for spicing dishes!"

"Hmph… you've really grown up considerably." Tendou smirked.

 **Judge 1:** 10  
 **Judge 2:** 10  
 **Judge 3:** 10  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 10  
 **Orie:** 10  
 **Natsume:** 10  
 **Ando:** 10  
 **Kita:** 10  
 **Tendou:** 3

 **Soma Yukihira:** 93 Points

"But you're still a brat."

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!" Soma gawked. "Oi! How come you gave me a 3?! You gave everyone else a 5 other than Kurogasa, but you gave me a 3! What the hell?!"

"It's your unpredictability. Honestly I thought you were going to give the judges an outlier just like your father."

"Oh c'mon! I'm not _that_ bad!" Soma said.

"Don't try to lie your way out of this one. You're just as bad as Mr. Joe." Kurogasa deadpanned. "Remember that one time you gave Megumi-chan calamari mixed with yogurt?"

"Like father like son." Tendou quipped.

"Hey!"

"!" Akira looked at Soma in shock as he continued arguing with Tendou.

"I guess he really can't exactly cut it." Ryoko smiled sheepishly.

"But look at the scores." Mito said, "Soma has more scores of tens than Akira. If this had followed the rules of a Shokugeki, Akira would've lost."

"Soma-kun…" Megumi murmured in surprise.

"Now let's continue with the judging!" Urara announced. "Will the next candidate please step forward!"

It was now Kurogasa's turn to present his dish. He hoped that his dishes for the judges weren't too cold for them to eat since he had been waiting the longest.

"Look it's him."

"The Conquering Sushi Shogun."

"But he didn't serve any sushi."

"He still has rice as his main forte."

"Here you go. Please enjoy. Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice." Kurogasa said, placing the plates in front of the judges.

"Hmmmm… it's not impactful as the rest." Kita noticed.

"It's rather simple." Ando added. "A common delicacy in Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, as well as in the Caribbean specifically in Trinidad."

"But… that mellow fragrance from the rice…" Orie moaned, taking a whiff of it.

"I used Basmati Rice."

"Basmati Rice?" Orie gasped. "That's like the king of all rice!"

"That's right. I used three cardamom pods and pierced them and also added two star anise to give it a fragrant smell. And once it fluffed after cooking, I removed the spices and added the green onions and cashews."

"Impressive." Tendou nodded. The judges then took a spoonful of the rice and chicken before putting them in their mouths. The moment they did they had shocked looked on their faces, frozen in place.

"Um…" Urara said. "How's the taste?"

"This mellow yet invigorating taste… it is beyond words to describe!" Ando said.

"The zest of the cilantro, the coolness of the mint, and the sweetness of the honey, it is blending this dish altogether!" Koda added.

"The crunchiness of the cashews and the sweetness of the mango also enhances the spiciness of the curry itself." Kita said.

"And the chicken is very tender!" Makito said.

"Thank you."

"However, while this is delicious, it's not as impactful as the other two." Natsume said.

"Why is that?" Kurogasa frowned.

"Sometimes the most subtle things can be just as impactful." Tendou said. Some of the other judges nodded at this saying. "And need I remind you Natsume that he has been raised humbly and only wants to be earnest in his cooking. He shows nothing but honesty in his dishes. Your expectations should not overshadow his abilities as a chef."

Natsume looked a bit surprised at that before relenting. "V-Very well. Let's judge shall we?"

 **Judge 1:** 9  
 **Judge 2:** 9  
 **Judge 3:** 9  
 **Makito:** 10  
 **Shingenoshin:** 10  
 **Orie:** 9  
 **Natsume:** 9  
 **Ando:** 9  
 **Kita:** 9

"Oh no…" Megumi said worried.

"Most of the judges are all giving him 9's." Shun said.

"Right now it's only 83 points." Marui said.

"Everything falls on his teacher." Ryoko added.

"But what score will be give him?" Yuki asked.

"…" Tendou score was the only that wasn't lit as he stayed silent for a while before he nodded… "10…"

 **Tendou:** 10

"With ten that means Kurogasa's score is now…" Shiki started as Bea smiled.

"Tied with Soma."

 **Kurogasa Kururugi:** 93 Points

"!" Akira looked at Kurogasa in surprise.

"Heh… looks like I'm still in this." Kurogasa sighed in relief with a smile, before pointing at the judges, "Welcome to Paradise!"

"Tendou-sama, not to sound like well… a bitch, you never went higher than a 5. Are you sure that your score wasn't because of his status as your student?" Natsume asked her crush as the man shook his head.

"Of course not. I judged him fairly like the rest." Tendou explained. "He has used what he has learned from me, his training is paying off, and is merely collecting his dues."

"Okay…" She started before twirling her hair. "Want to-"

"No." The man said with a deadpan expression.

"Okay…" Natsume said with dejected smile while crying waterfall tears.

"Well whaddya know? You actually tied with me." Soma grinned.

"I'm not gonna lose to you or Akira." Kurogasa smirked. "This battle's gotten real interesting."

"I'll admit, I'm bit relieved that you didn't beat me. I felt like I would lose some of my pride if that happened." The dark skinned man said to the teen.

"Nothing wrong with being humble." Kurogasa smirked, before extending a hand. "Besides, this is just to get into the main tournament. And I'll gladly take you on when that happens."

"Hmph, likewise." Akira smirked, shaking his hand.

"Man I thought I was least going to beat you~" Soma chuckled with a kind smile, "But great job overall man."

"Thanks."

"Hehhhhhhhhhh… damn it." Shiki sighed.

"What's wrong with _you_?" Soma asked, "Aren't you glad you're in the main tournament?"

"Well I am, but I didn't mean to kick Bea out from her spot…" The sweet's master and Drunken expert admitted. "Now I have to put a fight for her sake as well."

"Well, we know you'll do good." Kurogasa said, before he looked up to the VIP box where Erina was. He smiled widely while shooting her a thumbs-up.

She waved to him with a cheery smile, ecstatic that he earned his place in the rankings.

* * *

And so after the preliminaries have ended, the Polar Star students all came back to dorm and from there, they had a huge bbq feast on the balcony. Even the Aldini Brothers, Nao, Mito, and Hojo were invited to attend.

"KANPAI~!" They cheered, clinking their glasses together.

"Hmm…" Beatrix sighed with a sad smile. "Sucks that I couldn't enter the tournament…"

"But you did great out there!" Yuki assured. "I mean look at me and Ryoko, we couldn't get in either."

"Yeah but at least Shiki's going ahead… and Megumi too."

"Hey, c'mon now! Don't get all mopey! We're supposed to have a fun time!" Yuki smiled.

"Alright…"

"Speaking of, I'm impressed Megumi." Hojo said. "You managed to gut the monkfish perfectly."

"Yeah, me too. I was so impressed, it got me fired up." Kurogasa chuckled.

"Hehehe thanks, although Nero's curry buns were amazing." She said as the boy in question smiled bashfully.

"It was nothing really." Shiki said. "Just some of my old sweets style with my drunken."

"Wohoo! Pass the Amazaki around!" Daigo called out.

"Yeah! Drinks for all of us!" Shoji cheered.

"Please drink responsibly." Shiki chuckled softly losing his usual flair.

"Hahhhhhhhhhhhh… I didn't make it…" Marui groaned. "Shun, pour me another."

"I don't think-" Shun began softly.

"I SAID POUR ME ANOTHER ONE DAMMIT!"

"Hahaha…" Shiki chuckled softly as he poured the teen the drink he wanted. "There you go, I got ya."

"Ahhhh, youth…" Isshiki sighed happily to himself. "It's such a glorious day that my kouhais are moving up in the world. And for that, I will show you my third form!" He said, taking off his loincloth to reveal… he was in a speedo swimsuit!

"What the-!" Mito got out.

"He's done it! He's in his third form!" Daigo laughed.

"Oh dear…" Shiki covered Megumi's eyes, "That's not right…"

"S-Shiki-kun, what are you doing?! I can't see!" Megumi comically panicked.

"A good thing…" Beatrix said, paling at the sight. "Be glad…"

"D-Does this always happen Kurogasa-kun?" Nao stuttered.

"This is the first time I've seen Isshiki-senpai do this." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"And it's horrifying…" Beatrix announced.

"I guess he does this when he's really happy." Ryoko sweat dropped too.

"Yu~p…" Shiki said still covering Megumi's eyes.

"Shiki-kun, take your hands off me! I can't see!" Megumi cried out.

"I'm protecting your innocence!"

"You should be taking it~"

"Shut it Bea!"

*BONK!*

"Ow~!"

"Come on let's enjoy this!" Soma roared.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

And so the party went on and as everyone was having a good time, Kurogasa decided to take a break from the party and went back inside, he then opened up his cell phone and dialed a number.

[ _"Moushimoushi?"_ ]

"Hey Na-chan, it's me." Kurogasa smiled.

[ _"Hey are you okay?"_ ]

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just having a party at the dorm. You should've come."

[ _"Well if you want you can come over?"_ ]

"Thanks for the offer, but… I think I'm good for tonight." Kurogasa smiled as he looked over at the window to see Soma and the others having a great time, even Soma having Megumi try a piece of calamari dipped in yogurt. "So how did I do Na-chan?"

[ _"Great, I'm glad that Tendou gave you the only one with 10 points, although I wish you beat that guy."_ ]

"Heh, yeah me too, but I can't win them all. Besides, this is all just to get to the main tournament. I know I'll definitely win it… for you, Na-chan."

[ _"Don't do it for me, do it for you Ku-kun."_ ]

"I can't do that." Kurogasa chuckled. "I have to devote all of my cooking to you if I'm going to be a good chef. And I'm doing it because I love you."

[ _"Thank you, but remember I don't want you to always think of me. I want you to beat them with your own feelings into it."_ ]

"Na-chan…" Kurogasa muttered, before chuckling. "You always _were_ thoughtful of others behind that princess persona of yours."

[ _"Thank you Ku-kun, but right I'm celebrating with Hisako and Alice right now, is it alright to cut this short?"_ ]

"Sure. You have fun with them." Kurogasa smiled. "I love you."

[ _"I will, goodnight!"_ ]

With that he hung up, as he looked to the night sky with the full moon from above. "One heck of a year we're having."

* * *

 **Fen:** Oh yeah! The entire first season is done!

 **AQ:** Finally!

 **Fen:** Yep! Since this chapter took forever, it's only natural that this chapter is long too! And that's just the first Main Course! We got more plates to serve!

 **AQ:** Sadly true, but things will get interesting!

 **Fen:** Yep! The battles in this Autumn Elections is only just beginning! So stayed tune, you don't want to miss this!

 **Both:** See you on the next Main Course!


	15. Dish 15

**Fen:** Hey everybody! Fen and Queen here and it's the start of the second season of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe!

 **Queen:** Yeah been a while.

 **Fen:** And we have the matchups for this Autumn Elections! As for the themes of the battles, most of it will stay the same, but we'll have to change a few themes because Queen here unfortunately has little to no experience with some of the themes, like the Bento and the Pacific Saury for example.

 **Queen:** Fuck off! And you know how to do them?

 **Fen:** Well no… which is why we agreed to change a few of the themes, even a couple of our own since we have ten contestants instead of eight.

 **Queen:** So many battles and results will happen.

 **Fen:** Yeah, so let's not waste any time and start this!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

It's been a week since the Autumn Elections Preliminary rounds. The top chefs that were going to the Main Tournament were Kurogasa, Soma, Megumi, Hisako, Akira, Ryo, Takumi, Shiki, and Alice along with one other chef that has yet to be introduced which they will meet later. These chefs have proven what it takes to be the best of the best. And they weren't going to stop now. Their cooking will continue to evolve and change as this tournament goes on. As of now, at the Polar Star Star Dorm, the four participants of Kurogasa, Soma, Megumi, and Shiki were getting their stuff ready. Or at least… Megumi was.

"All right." Megumi breathed as she shut her suitcase, but then she suddenly panicked. "Oh no, did I pack the petty knife?!" She said, suddenly opening her suitcase and throwing stuff around before finding it. "Oh. There it is." She said, before packing her stuff again. "Oh no, did I pack the timer?!" She panicked again, before unpacking once more.

The others were watching her freak out save for Beatrix for was passing Nero some cookies, and said boy was playing on a sitar. It sound oddly familiar as he sat on a lap pillow. "The timer is there." he said as he fix his strings.

"Um… Megumi-chan…" Kurogasa blinked.

"There will only be an explanation about the main tournament today." Ryoko said.

"Do you really need your tools?" Yuki asked.

"Oh! You're right!" Megumi realized.

"Mou, you never change." Ryoko smiled sadly.

"I already tossed them in." Shiki said out loud resuming his playing.

"Yo, Tadoroko." Soma's voice said, as he approached them. "Our ride's are here."

"Bye guys." Shiki smiled as he looked away from his friends.

"Yosh," Kurogasa grinned as he punched his empty palm with a fist. "You ready to raise some hell, Soma?"

"Heh, you bet." Soma grinned.

"What about him?" the tough students said lifting Shiki as he continued to play his song.

"What _about_ him?" Kurogasa looked confused.

"He's in the tournament too!" They yelled out.

"Yeah, but I was just asking Soma."

"Wow, nice to know that my friends forget me. Oh well, I don't blame you." Shiki shrugged as the tough students carried him away.

"O-Oi! Shiki, it's not like that!" Kurogasa panicked as he ran after him.

"Well, Tadokoro, should we get going?" Soma asked.

"H-Hai!"

* * *

 **(Cue Rough Diamonds by SCREEN MODE)**

 **(Instrumental)** The first three beats of the instrumental show Soma and Kurogasa in poses before the song starts picking up at the fast pace. The two boys glowed golden surrounded by fire as various pieces of food flew upwards before the flames covered the screen, changing to a scene of the 92nd Generation Prodigies in silhouettes, walking towards the camera as the title card appeared for a moment before the flames overwhelmed the screen and changed scenery.

 **(Omoi egaiteru IMEEJI yori haruka~ mukou~ gawa e~)** The scene shows various screen shots of Soma, Joichiro, Erina, Megumi, Alice, Ryo, Marui, Shun, Yuki, and Ryoko all looking at the camera with various experessions on their faces.  
 **(Tsukuri agete yuku shinjitsu wa mada tooku~ hatena~i tabiji~)** The next scene then showed various screenshots of Takumi, Isami, Hisako, Mito, Akira, Jun, Isshiki, Eizan, Shiki, Beatrix, Tendou, and Kurogasa all doing the same thing as the first batch.

 **(Tagai no PURAIDO wo togi sumaseyou ze)** The next scene then changed to show various characters in the form of alumni, teachers, other support characters, and the headmaster of Tōtsuki Academy.  
 **(Kotoba nante kazari wa hadakesaserya ii)** The scene then changes to four women alumni of Tōtsuki Academy before changing to Erina who looks to the sky with a look of content on her face.

 **(Butsukariai, migakareteiku~ Rolling Stone~)** On each beat of the music, we see various scenes of the cast and the various events that happened during their time at the Academy before it switched to Soma and Kurogasa who had their backs towards each other surrounded by various chef students ready to take them down, but they smirked at each other before they charged at them ready to take the challenge.

 **(Deai wa SHOCKWAVE! SHOCKWAVE! Mada shiranai sekai e~)** The next scene then shows various students standing on top of floating kitchen knives in the sky, that were all pointed towards the sun.  
 **(Aruki hajimeta, mubou na chousensha sa)** Soma, Megumi, Shun, Ryoko, Marui, and Yuki stood on their kitchen knives on one side while Ryo, Takumi, Alice, Hisako, Shiki, and Beatrix were opposite of them and the two lines of knives clashed and parried against each other,  
 **(Te ni shita yaiba de ashita wo kirihirakeba iin darou?)** Akira stood on top of a large cinnamon stick and waved his hand forward and golden beams of light shot of the cinnamon sticks striking the other kitchen knives down.  
 **(Dareka no mono ja nai… jibun dake no STORY)** But Soma's and Ryo's survive as they flew towards Akira's cinnamon stick and clashed. Soma, Ryo, and Akira then noticed one more kitchen knife floating in the sky, showing Kurogasa standing on it with Erina looking on at him.

 **(Cause we're still ROUGH DIAMONDS on the ro~ad!)** Kurogasa then jumped off doing a corkscrew flip then pivoted his body to dive down for a flying kick. As he dived down, a faint image of a certain red-armored beetle warrior overlaps him as he kicks the screen causing it to turn white and the screen shattered into pieces revealing a group shot of silhouetted members of the Elite Ten with a dark figure towering over them with a sinister smile before the scene changed to a group shot of the 92nd Generation Prodigies to end the song.

* * *

 **Dish 15:** Sticky Ribs with New Orleans-Style Jambalaya

"I was just going to forfeit." Shiki sighed out loud.

"You might as well make the most of it." Kurogasa said. The Polar Star Students had arrived, along with the other competitors. And it just so happens to be at Eizan's estate, so-to-speak. As of now, Eizan, Isshiki, and Erina were in the office along with Soma, Kurogasa, and Shiki.

"Minna, about the lottery results…" Isshiki said. "Kurogasa-kun, you will be competing in the very first round. Whereas Soma-kun and Shiki-kun are facing against each other in the last round."

"First round already?" Kurogasa frowned slightly, though he had a pretty good idea why when he eyed on Eizan who was minding his own business at his desk.

"Wait hold up, I'm against an outlier?" Shiki said as he lifted his hand, "Great I'm losing to an idiot…"

"Oh c'mon, it's not _that_ bad." Soma grinned, "At least you get to lose gloriously."

"Why must you always be such a troll, Yukihira-kun?" Erina pouted.

"I hate you… you're a bad person." Shiki glared at the red haired teen.

"Anyways." Kurogasa cleared his throat intentionally. "So Isshiki-senpai, what theme am I working with?"

"BBQ, or barbecue." The youth loving teen said kindly.

"Barbecue?" Kurogasa blinked. "An American cuisine? That's kinda out of left field, don't you think?"

"Actually it's bad for you and Alice." Shiki started, "For her ways and yours."

"Wait, what? I'm going against Ali-chan?" He uttered in surprise.

"Says so on the paper." Shiki said holding Isshiki's sheet. "Anyway I suggest you listen to my advice."

"Well, looks like I got my work cut out for me." Kurogasa sighed as Eizan looked at his phone.

"Ah, I have a visitor regarding an unrelated topic. Excuse me." Eizan said, as he stood up before he stopped next to Kurogasa and Soma. "Kurogasa Kururugi. Soma Yukihira. Both of you try your best to make it through the rounds. It'd be quite a downer if you two were to fail in the very first round." He smirked, as the two teens eyed him darkly before Eizan left.

"Tch…" Kurogasa clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Man, that guy's a dick!" Shiki rudely stated.

"Kuro…" Erina said worriedly.

"Hm?" Kurogasa looked to his girlfriend and smiled sadly, "Don't worry, Na-chan. I won't let him get the best of me."

"…Seriously though, you and Alice are in deep trouble." Shiki once more tried to give his advice. "You guys' usual way of cooking is not well for here."

"Heh… Shishou ga iteita: Chase two birds, and you catch two birds." Kurogasa quoted. "I'll find a way to make this work."

"Ugh I didn't mean it like that. You guys won't make the food right. Normally, for barbeque it has to have smoke for long periods of time and also the meat to be allow to absorb the flavor of the flavored smoke. That takes hours among hours."

"Then I know just who to go to."

* * *

"Sorry about this, Mito." Kurogasa said sheepishly, clasping his hands together with a slight bow. "But I could really use your help on this."

She smiled a predatory smile as Mito stood up, making her bountiful chest jiggle erotically, "Hmm? Should you be cheating on Erina-sama so soon?"

"I'm here for advice on the barbecue!" Kurogasa panicked comically. "Don't get the wrong idea!"

"Hmm," Mito scratch her head, "I can give some advice, but my food is more upper class than Barbecuing."

"Whatever works. Anything helps."

Taking him to her kitchen she took out a large amount of meats, "Luckily, I was experimenting with some smoked meats. Not exactly the real version of barbecuing but close enough."

"Whoa… the sauce is glazed and caramelized too." Kurogasa noticed. "I'm guessing that you braised the meat first to get that dark color before you added the other ingredients and used stock as a final touch to it."

"Yes, the meat must have a nice coat before cooking it, wrap in some tin foil and let it simmer and help boil the meat. It keeps it tender that way." She mused taking a fork and easily pulled out some meat. "If your meat is easy to remove with little moment or force, you got it perfect." she said then offer the fork for him to sample. "Taste it."

"Don't mind if I do." Kurogasa said, taking the fork and ate the sample, his eyes widened at the taste. "Wow… this is amazing. It has spiciness, tartness, and sweetness to it all in one flavor."

"Problem… it took five hours for it to be done like that." She said with a frown.

"Five hours?!" Kurogasa gawked.

"I had the heat in the oven on low and constantly checked its progress… but yes." She said before pointing at the other meats, "Most of these take over two hours to finish."

"And the time limit for this first round is two hours. Meaning I have to make my dish in less that time."

"But there _is_ a saving grace, and that's oven heat. Yours is either smoking or fire, meaning depending how to work with either you can make this faster." She explained, but once more sighed, "But the problem is what to cook and how?"

"Right… there's also the type of meat and what part to consider as well for the best flavor." Kurogasa pondered.

"And whether or not to choose to use flavor wood chips."

"That too…" Kurogasa frowned as he pondered on this more. _'Think Kuro think! The type of meat has to produce the best combination of flavors along with the caramelization of the sauce. Not to mention, I have to consider my own specialty in rice. But what kind of rice dish should I make along with the barbe-'_ He then stopped in his thoughts as an idea formed in his mind. The mental images of the type to use, the ingredients, the spices and condiments needed started to form and take shape of the mental image that he wanted. "I got it!"

"What is it?" The meat lover asked.

"I know how to make this dish time efficient." Kurogasa grinned, "The law of victory is set!"

* * *

The next day had arrived and all the spectators have arrived at the Hall of Heaven and Moon where the main tournament was going to take place. Everyone was eager for this competition to begin as even the big guns of the food industry sat in their VIP boxes, ready to watch the competition with anticipation.

"Thanks for your patience everyone! We're ready to begin the main tournament of the 43rd Annual Autumn Elections!" Urara announced as the crowd cheered.

"GET A NEW JOB!" Beatrix yelled.

"Bea, why do you hate Urara so much?" Yuki tilted her head.

Smiling, she flicked her hair elegantly, she spoke as her hair fluttered in the wind, "She is a tomboy, a true female lover such as I must enjoy women when they show even a hint of maiden-ness."

"Really? She doesn't look like a tomboy." Ryoko looked at Urara. "I mean Mito-san is also a tomboy now that I think about it."

"Ahh but she has a heart of a maiden, that she does. Urara just portrays one but doesn't mean it." The sweets maker stated.

"So she's a faker?" Yuki asked confused.

"That takes advantage of others with her cuteness which is not genuine!" Beatrix said as a flaming aura burst out of her making Yuki and Ryoko sweat drop. "I will not let it stand!"

"She's rather fired up. Even though she's not competing…" Shun commented.

"Must be because I am…" Shiki groan, "Remind me why I can't simply drop out?"

"And miss out all on the fun? Are you kidding me?" Soma grinned. "C'mon, where's your sense of thrill and excitement?"

"I rather just laze around doing nothing."

"And now the moment you've all been waiting for!" Urara said as she gestured to one corner with Alice coming of it having a bright smile on her face. "Introducing first, the candidate who has scored the highest in all of the preliminary rounds, it's Candidate Alice Nakiri!"

"There she is!"

"The Snow White of Totsuki!"

"She's the one that specializes in Molecular Gastronomy right?"

"Yeah but her opponent is the Sushi Shogun!"

"Please there's no way he would beat her."

"And next!" Urara said gesturing to the other corner at Kurogasa slowly emerged from there filled to the brim with confidence. "Her opponent is the candidate who had the third best overall score tied with Soma Yukihira! He's the Conquering Sushi Shogun! Kurogasa Kururugi!"

Soon the two of them met at their stations facing each other. "Well, here we are, Ali-chan. I never thought I'd face you this early."

"Try to go easy on me~!" She smiled cutely before winking at him, "I won't though since you're a big boy~!"

"Still can't wait how they will overcome their weaknesses here." Shiki stated as Beatrix nodded to his words.

"Are you kidding me, Ali-chan? I'm gonna give it my all in this battle." He grinned as he suddenly took off his chef jacket, revealing a dark grey tank top and wrapped it around his neck as a cape. "Because in this match, I found my Path to Heaven!"

Alice's eyes became no longer playful, but now full of interest and power, "Hoo? Sounds fun… let's play…" She smirked as if capturing her latest meal.

"Alright! Time for the first round!" Urara announced. "The theme is Barbecue and the time limit is two hours!"

At that point, Senzaemon stood up and announced,

"CHOURI KAISHIN!"

 ***GONG!***

* * *

 **第** **四十三** **回秋の選抜** **-** **第一** **  
**43rd Autumn Elections - Round One

 **枢木黒笠** **vs.** **薙切 アリス** **  
**Kurogasa Kururugi vs. Alice Nakiri

 **Theme:** Barbecue

"Let's see how they play."

Kurogasa immediately set to work with his dish. First he had a large rectangular roasting pan big enough to cover one gas stove. He fired up the heat and drizzled olive oil to cover the pan and while it was heating up, he took out ten pieces of pork ribs which were 60% meat and 35-40% fat. He seasoned them evenly with salt and pepper before pressing the seasonings onto the meat. Once he saw the roasting pan smoking, he placed the ribs into the roasting pan letting the meat braise.

While it was braising, he took some ginger and cut the skin off with his knife before cutting the ginger into thin pieces. He then took a few cloves of garlic and opened them up to take out the skin before finally cutting them into pieces as well. Once he was cutting them, he turned the pork ribs and smiled at the coloring of the ribs that were already cooked, having that nice brown color and proceeded to put in the thin slices of ginger and garlic, spreading it evenly amongst the ribs.

Next he took a small handful of chili flakes and spread them amongst the rib evenly, then took a small handful of Szechuan pepper and distributed them evenly as well. He even added five to seven pieces of star anise to them as well and evenly placed them on the ribs. To sweeten things up, he took out a small jar of honey and evenly coated the pork ribs and then he used soy sauce, generously adding it in the pork ribs and then adding Japanese rice wine to add tartness to it. The fragrance of the ribs started spreading throughout the arena and had several mouths salivating at just the mere smell of it.

"Mmh rustic but classic." Beatrix smiled as she smelled the air.

"I knew it would smell great." Mito nodded.

"Huh?" Soma looked at her. "You had his dish before Nikumi?"

"W-Well yeah. He experimented on the ribs and… he was actually time efficient with it."

"It payed off. Looks like he can have a chance to win." Shiki said with a grin.

"So then what's Alice doing?" Soma asked, as he looked to Alice's side of the arena.

The white haired girl was standing next to five smoker machines. Which all were high tech from all the buttons and knobs on it. "Hmm it seems this might be easy than I thought~"

"Wait, what is she planning on doing?" Yuki asked, almost scared to find out.

"Smoking…" The resident smoker chef said with a obvious tone.

"But wouldn't that take hours to do?" Marui questioned.

"It would, considering how my meats would take at least 5 hours to smoke and cure." Mito said. "But Alice may prove otherwise."

"Those machines are also similar to ovens, she can fasten the time." Shiki said, "Think of it as dutch oven of sorts."

"And those lessen the time to just taking two hours to cook whatever barbecue she's planning on cooking." Ryoko added.

"Yup!" The pastry chef chirped.

Meanwhile back at Kurogasa's station, he now added two tablespoons of Japanese vinegar before adding rice wine.

"He's using rice wine?" Megumi asked.

"The tartness of the rice wine can mellow down the heat of the Szechuan peppers and chili flakes." Shiki explained as Kurogasa tasted the liquids in the pan. He noticed that it was missing a touch of tartness so he added a bit more of Japanese vinegar. Once that was done, he chopped some green onions into fine pieces before putting them on the barbecue and then added 400 ml of simple chicken stock. Once that was done, he carefully took that roast pan and placed it in the oven at 180 degrees.

"Okay, time to start the rice part of the dish." Kurogasa nodded to himself.

"One is going a more formal while the other is going a rustic style." Soma said with a smile, "This is going to be fun to watch."

Alice smiled as she took her time as she got a pan and turn on a stove, "Crude as it might be, I have to make it the old fashion way." Taking out some liquids and ingredients in unnamed jugs and bottles she continued to make her dish.

Later on into the match, once thirty minutes were up, Kurogasa opened the oven that had the barbecue and turned them over before closing the oven again, letting it cook for another thirty minutes. While those thirty minutes were dwindling down, he started on his rice part of his dish. He had 1/2 pound of diced bacon, 1 diced onion, 1/2 of diced bell pepper, 1 stalk of diced celery, 1 pound of sliced smoked pork sausage, 3 cups uncooked converted Louisiana white rice, 1 tsp. smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 5 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of canned chopped tomatoes, 2 cups of cooked diced pork, and 3 green onions that were chopped.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, Kurogasa cooked the bacon over medium-high heat for three minutes until the fat was rendered. He then added the onions and cooked, stirring it often, until it was browned. He then added the bell pepper, celery, and sausage that were diced. He cooked and stirred for another 3 minutes, then added the rice, paprika, thyme, and red pepper flakes.

Once those ingredients were cooked evenly, he increased the heat to high and added the chicken broth and tomato sauce. Stirring and folding the rice dish, he then added the pork and green onions. He stirred them very well until he brought them to a boil. Then he covered the pot with a lid and reduced the heat to low, letting it simmer for 18 minutes.

Once the timer of the barbecue ribs were done, he took them out of the oven and placed them back on the gas stove.

"Wait, he's cooking it again?" Shoji asked. "But it's already cooked."

"No look." Ryoko said, pointing to the barbecue. She turned that for every minute the barbecue ws turned and the glaze of the meat became more obvious. "The glaze of the barbecue, it's becoming more caramelized."

"And he adding some kind of liquid as a finishing touch. I don't know what that is though." Daigo said.

The last couple of minutes were winding down before Kurogasa and Alice started plating their dishes and once done…

 ***DING! DING! DING!***

"Alright, stop your cooking! Step away from your stations!" Urara announced, before the two of them stepped back.

"Phew…" Kurogasa sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Looks like I didn't need to use Clock Up after all…"

"Done and done~!" Alice smiled as she stood next to Kuro, "Sorry to beat you!"

"Hey, that's _my_ line, Ali-chan." Alice smirked. "Just don't go crying if and when you do."

"Bleh!" She stuck out her tongue cutely and pulled down her left eyelid.

"Now then, who will present their dish to the judges first?" Urara asked. The white-haired female then decided to take her dishes and present them. One of them was her grandfather, Senzaemon himself. The other two were Kakinoshin Ōizumi, President of Japanese Food Industry Council and Seishū Saotome, Director of Japan Gourmet Society, along with two other unnamed judges.

"Lunch is served." Alice winked, as she placed them on their table.

The plates were very odd, three types of meat were in the plates each under a type of white dough and also drizzled with three types of sauce. It was a version of a modern and high class BBQ.

"Eh? What's that?" Soma blinked.

"Meat under a type of white dough?" Beatrix said confused.

"Oh dear…" Shiki concluded, "If she made what I think she made Kuro is in a big heap of problems."

"What kind of dish is it?" Yuki panicked.

"A sample course of fish, ribs, and lastly pork. They are under a dough similar to pizza dough but grilled and steamed. The fish is accompanied with a miso paste that has lemon zest, the pork as a classic barbeque with caramel aftertone, and the ribs has a cajun spicy flavor to let the moist meat explode with the lock in flavors." Alice stated, "A high class meal with a step forward to the future!"

"So she made some sort of appetizer, so what?" Beatrix shrugged.

"No, it's more than just that." Shun said. "Look."

"Ohh, the fish is cooked to perfection that I could cut it easily with my chopsticks." Ōizumi said, before picking it up that had the dough and bit it. "Nani?! This flavor… the zest of the lemon is accompanied by this sweet smoky flavor I'm tasting. Did you use wood chips?"

"Wood chips?" The Polar Star students asked in unison.

"I knew it…" Shun said.

"Cherry wood chips, I used a real tart cherry juice, cold pressed and let the cedar plank soak in it. Letting the sweet flavor then used a dehydration machine to quickly make sure to capture the peak taste."

"How innovative!"

"Next is the pork." Seishū said, as he sampled the pork that had the dough on there. "Oh my… this pork just melts in your mouth upon chewing it! It's so tender and juicy!"

"That one is slowest one to be smoked, I used a banana leaves to make sure that its moisture wouldn't leave, while also in a way steaming it." She said once more enjoying the praise she was getting.

"And these ribs…" Senzaemon said as he took a bite of the ribs with the dough on it. "You used a sort of cajun spice to lock in the juices."

"Yes I did Ojii-san." Alice smirked.

"Hmmm… impressive." Senzaemon said, as he closed his eyes to savor in the flavor.

* * *

 _In his mind, Senzaemon was dressed in a tuxedo as he found himself in an elegant and beautiful ballroom. Ōizumi and Seishū also happen to be in the ballroom as well, wearing their tuxedos as well._

 _In front of them were three fancy dress woman… but they were…wearing animal costumes of a fish, pig, and cow! Each judge took the hand of the lovely ladies performing a tango, waltz, and salsa!_

 _"This-!" They started as they were crying tears of joy. "A taste of the sweet rich life~!"_

* * *

"Uwhooooooooooooooa…!" The other students said amazed.

"That's the director's granddaughter for you!"

"There's no way that Sushi Shogun can beat her now!"

"Not with that kind of praise."

"Yeah, she's got this hands down!"

"Sorry Kuro, looks like I'm the breadwinner of this relationship!"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that." Kurogasa grinned. "They haven't tasted mine yet." He said, as he went to his stations to get his dishes to present it to them. "Please enjoy. My Sticky Ribs with New Orleans-Style Jambalaya!

"Jambalaya? _Holy Shit!_ " Shiki said suddenly wearing a beard and tan hat.

"Nero stop watching Jojo!" Beatrix groaned out.

"Jambalaya…" Senzaemon said. "A dish of from the United States, particularly in Louisiana, having Spanish and French influence, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Traditionally, the meat always includes sausage of some sort, often a smoked sausage, along with other meat or seafood, frequently pork, chicken, crawfish, or shrimp."

"That's right. And the vegetables are usually a soffritto-like mixture known as the "holy trinity" in Creole and Cajun cooking: onion, celery, and green bell pepper." Ōizumi added.

"For this particular one, I'm assuming you used the Creole style of the Jambalaya since the "holy trinity" is in the mix." Seishu guessed.

"That's right." Kurogasa nodded.

"Well now, let's all try this shall we?" Senzaemon said as they all had a spoonful of the rice dish and placed it in their mouths. "!"

"What _is_ this?!" Ōizumi gasped in shock. "These flavors… they're so full of energy and life!"

"The saltiness of the meat goes hand-in-hand with the sweetness of the vegetables. And this spiciness… it had a little heat to it." Seishu said.

"Heh, heh… the secret ingredient to that is…" Kurogasa said, as he showed a small bottle of… "Tabasco sauce!"

"What?! _Oh my god-!_ "

 ***BANG~!***

"No more Jojo references!" Beatrix shouted holding a broken bat. "But can a common sauce really work that good?"

"Oh, but that's just the appetizer. The main star goes to the Sticky Ribs." Kurogasa said, "Go ahead, try it out."

"Very well." Senzaemon said, as they used their forks to peel the meat off the bones. "Hmmm… very tender like Alice's dish." He commented before taking a bite of the barbecue as did the other judges. "Hm?! This flavor… the tartness, the heat, the caramel, and even the color of this pork rib…"

"It's all thanks to the chicken stock I put in the pan. Thanks to it sitting under the ribs, it absorbs into the ribs, the top glazes over while the bottom becomes crispy and rich, making the pork ribs nice and moist. And if you noticed when I put the ribs back on the gas stove, the ribs started to caramelize more. The longer I turn the ribs and caramelize it more, the flavor profile becomes better and better. And it will keep on developing even more flavor even when chilled in the fridge."

"The pork is so sticky, chewy, and sweet." Seishu said. "It just melts in your mouth."

"But this smoky flavor… it's even more concentrated than that of Alice's." Ōizumi said. "That small amount of liquid you added before plating. What was it?!"

"Heh. I was hoping you'd ask that." Kurogasa smirked. "The laws of victory was set with this!" He said, pulling out another small bottle. "Liquid smoke!"

"Liquid smoke?!" The Polar Star students asked shocked, as well as the other students. Even Alice was outright shocked.

"That's right. With this, I amplified the smoky flavor of the barbecue just enough to combine with the Jambalaya. Try them together and you'll see what I mean." He said. The judges wasted no time in trying the Sticky Ribs with the Jambalaya together and upon tasting it, their eyes were wide with surprise of what this dish was like.

"This flavor… I'm speechless." Senzaemon said.

"I can see why these two parts of the dish work well together." Ōizumi said. "The barbecue flavor sings a song of festivity and joy and the spiciness of the rice compliments so well, that you can't stop dancing!"

"While Alice's dish is a ballroom dance, this dish is like-" Seishū said.

* * *

 _Senzaemon, Ōizumi, and Seishū found themselves in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The people in the area were celebrating. The jazz band marched down the streets in a parade with their instruments of trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and drums but the band members themselves had animal costumes as well._

 _Senzaemon, Ōizumi, and Seishū wanted to join in on the celebration and so they joined the parade and danced on down the street._ _They all danced around as time seem to quickly turn morning, afternoon, and night. As the three judges laughed and played, this was an everyday experience that never grew old!_

 _"This flavor!" They cried out. "It's an all-day party that never ends!"_

* * *

 ***WOOSH!***

All of a sudden, Senzaemon had the top-half of his kimono suddenly come out, revealing his rather physique and muscular shaped body, despite how old he was.

"What?" Alice gasped. "He's bare-chested!"

"Whoa buff!" Beatrix and the other girls said in a surprised tone.

"Are you gentlemen ready to judge?" Tendou asked from his throne.

"S-Shishou?" Kurogasa bugged out. "What are you doing here? _When_ did you get here?"

"I got bored."

"Alice. While your dish was delicious, I'm afraid that Kurogasa's has the edge in terms of creativity."

"W-What?"

"The purpose of this competition is to find those who have the creativity and the innovation to create dishes that will amaze many people from all over the world. Yes, you have made a fine and innovative dish using the science of your dishes, but your creativity… is lacking."

"Impossible, there's no way it could-"

"Ali-chan." Kurogasa said, as he presented his dish to her. "Your grandfather isn't wrong. Yeah, it's refined, elegant, and the dish is delicious, but there's no energy to it. No life. It has to be filled with vigor and your passion. Here. Taste this for yourself Ali-chan. Walk the Path of Heaven."

Alice looked at the dish that Kurogasa presented to her before taking the said dish, taking a spoon and fork, she took the barbecue and the Jambalaya into her mouth and closed her eyes taking in the flavor of the dish as she went down memory lane.

"Give me the brush!" Senzaemon said as a staff member gave him a rather huge one the size of a log and stuck ink in it before writing a name on the rather large scroll of paper. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

* * *

 **Flashback - 10 years ago**

 _"Ali-chan, c'mon, stop crying. It wasn't that bad." a young Kurogasa comforted. She had Erina taste her cake and she didn't like it because Alice thought that making the cake crunchy with eggshells was a good idea. Kurogasa tried to calm her down, but she was still sad over the fact that Erina didn't like her cake._

 _"She's so mean! Wahhhhhh~!"_

 _"Okay, okay," Kurogasa sighed before hugging her. "Don't be like that, I don't want one of my two best friends crying."_

 _"But I worked so hard… and she couldn't at least lie." she said with a sad frown._

 _"She's just too honest with it." Kurogasa said. "But don't worry. I know you'll get better."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Yeah, and you'll be a super chef like Tendou from Kamen Rider Kabuto!" Kurogasa smiled._

 _"He's just a character!"_

 _"Doesn't mean you can't try your best to be like them,"_

 _"But it's Erina, she won't care anyway."_

 _"Then how about you aspire to be like me?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Yeah, like me. I mean I make pretty darn good bowl of noodle soup." Kurogasa chuckled._

 _"Can I try some?"_

 _"Sure. Here." Kurogasa said, taking a pair of chopsticks and picking up the noodles. "Say ahhhh~"_

 _She took a small bite and sipped some of the soup… her eyes softened and a warm gentle heat was in her chest. It was delicious…_

 _Just like now…_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"Hah… Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Alice cried out in bliss after tasting it.

"IKKAISEN DAI-ICHI SHIAI!" Senzaemon declared after writing the calligraphy on the huge paper scroll with his big brush. "SHOSHA WA…!"

 **枢** **  
** **木** **  
** **黒** **  
** **笠**

"KUROGASA KURURUGI!"

Kurogasa smiled before he took off his chef jacket and held over his shoulder and he put out his fist and shouted, "Welcome to Paradise!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The crowd cheered along with the Polar Star Residents and other notable 92nd students. Especially Erina, who smiled.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Alice bawled out as she was lying on the ground, with tears going down her eyes. "UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Oi, oi, oi, don't be like that Ali-chan." Kurogasa smiled sadly as he held out his hand. "You should be proud that you got this far. C'mon, stand up."

Alice stopped as she saw the hand. Her mind immediately went back when she tried Kuro's dish as she gently took it with her own. She curled her fingers, afraid he might slip through her hands and was slowly and carefully lifted up to her feet. Alice stared into the boy's eyes, completely forgetting about the Autumn Elections, the battle, and most importantly…

"Sorry Erina…" Was the only thing that Alice said as she wrapped her arms around Kurogasa's neck and…

"MMMMMPHHH!" Kurogasa moaned/yelled as Alice suddenly locked her lips with his as the whole stadium watched the scene, along with the judges.

"UWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!" the crowd gawked in amazement and surprise.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Erina gawked.

"Kids these days… they're growing up too fast…" Senzaemon sighed as Alice broke the kiss.

"A… A… Ali-chan…?" Kurogasa said stunned, with his face red as a tomato.

"Oo~ps!" The girl said with tears running down on her cheeks, not from sadness but from joy. "Sorry, I can't hold back anymore… I love you Kurogasa Kururugi!" The girl confessed before catching his lips again.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Everyone else asked shocked.

"No fair!"

"He gets The Snow White Princess of the School?!"

"You jerk!"

"This isn't right!"

"You put up that kind act so you can have her, didn't you!?"

"HANDS OFF HIM, ALICE!" Erina shrieked as she immediately went up to them and pulled Alice away from Kurogasa. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"What's wrong?" Alice said trying to act innocent knowing full well why her cousin is so ticked.

"YOU KNOW DARN WELL WHAT'S WRONG!"

"I said sorry… but I can't hold back. I LOVE KUROGASA!" She shouted with a big smile.

"CHIGAU!" Erina said going between her cousin and Kurogasa, while pouting. "KUROGASA! IS! MY! BOYFRIEND!"

…

…

…

…

Erina then realized what she said and blushed heavily in embarrassment covering her mouth with her hands.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Everyone else shouted.

"Great… now I'm starting to hate him…" Beatrix pouted. "Lucky bastard…"

"Wait, is he seriously two-timing?" Yuki gasped.

"Well that's a first." Marui blinked.

"Oh my…" Ryoko murmured. "You naughty boy…"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Kurogasa shouted comically.

"Well he is the protag…" Shiki chuckled.

"Ohh?" Alice said tilting her head. "Are you sure about that? I haven't seen any romantic lovey-dovey-ness around you two."

"URUSAI!" Erina shouted. "I'll prove it!" She added before she turned to Kurogasa.

"Na-chan?" The boy said before the girl copied what Alice did and kiss her beloved friend and lover. "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!"

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" The crowd shouted again.

"Heh, you really are an interesting person, Kurogasa Kururugi." Akira smirked.

"Mou~! That's enough!" Alice said separating the two, "I want him!"

"No, he's mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"STOP PULLING MY ARMS!" Kurogasa wailed out.

Tendou stood up with a smile, "Well my job's done, good luck my student."

* * *

 **Fen:** And there we go! The first chapter of Season 2 is in the books!

 **Queen:** Yup another 20 more to go.

 **Fen:** Even though it's only 13 episodes in Season 2?

 **Queen:** Don't forget the OC chapters and OVA's.

 **Fen:** Oh yeah, that can definitely changes up for Season 2. Well anyways, we'll see you on the next Main Course!


	16. Dish 16

**Fen:** Hello everybody! Fen and Queen here for another chapter of Shokugeki no Soma: Heaven's Recipe!

 **AQ:** Hey… ***ignores everyone to watch Beastmaster***

 **Fen:** Uh… Queen I kinda need ya for this segment.

 **AQ: *Flips the bird***

 **AK:** I'll do it, hello everyone! No seriously she is really watching it she is too addicted XD

 **Fen:** But… but… the JoJo references we'll be doing… T_T

 **AK:** I can do it…

 **Fen:** Yatta! Then let's go!

Disclaimer: Same thing.

* * *

The first match of the first round was complete. Kurogasa and Alice battled against each other with Barbecue as the theme. In the end, however, Kurogasa was victorious in his bout. Not only that, Alice steals a kiss from him, prompting Erina to intercept and the two of them fighting over him. As of now, Kurogasa was in the waiting room with his friends as he had ice packs on both his shoulders.

"Ahhhhhh… my shoulders were nearly pulled out of my sockets…" Kurogasa groaned in pain.

"Good luck to you." Shiki said as he placed a airsoft handgun into a silver suitcase.

"Wait, where are _you_ going?" Soma asked.

"I got to help a few friends back in Tokyo." Shiki said as he placed a mask in it.

"You're… not going to watch me?" Megumi asked, almost sad to hear that.

"I'll be back," he said now placing a collapsible scythe in the suitcase. "You'll win."

"Shiki-kun…"

"Don't worry. Whoever you're facing has nothing on ya." Shiki smiled. "Besides, you made it _this_ far, so what's stopping ya now?"

"Oh, just my man servant." Alice said walking up to them.

"Ali-chan…" Kurogasa pouted. "You know Erina's gonna try to maul you again if you're anywhere near me…"

"She did!" She said with a smile showing her arm with a few bite marks.

"So then why are you here?"

"And why can't I be with my future hubby huh?" Alice huffed, doing her comical pout.

"I really hate you…" Beatrix muttered.

"The hell did _I_ do to you?!" Kurogasa asked incredulously.

"Being a manwhore…" Shiki said now dressed in white suit with a smiling opera mask. "Alright gotta go… time to steal some hearts…" And with that, he left without another word going out the door.

"I'm sorry, did he say steal hearts?" Kurogasa said with a baffled look.

"It's a long story." Beatrix sighed.

"Miss Megumi." A staff member said, coming into the room. "You're due to be up next. Please make sure to have all your belongings ready."

"Ok,"

"Also a man named Shiki told me to give you this." The staff member said, passing her a chibi version of her and Shiki holding a little banner that said 'Fight~!'. "As an apology for leaving."

"O-Oh, thank you." Megumi said, taking it while smiling at the little figurine. "Shiki-kun…"

"We'll cheer you on from the sidelines." Soma grinned widely, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Ganbare, Megumi-chan." Kurogasa smiled, giving her a thumbs-up too, but then cringed, "Itetete…"

"GAHHH!" Shiki screamed as he landed in front of them. "Stupid app… sorry sorry… leaving again…" He waved his friends one more time before leaving.

"What… was _that_?" Soma blinked.

"Again, long story…" Beatrix muttered.

* * *

 **(Cue Rough Diamonds by SCREEN MODE)**

 **(Instrumental)** The first three beats of the instrumental show Soma and Kurogasa in poses before the song starts picking up at the fast pace. The two boys glowed golden surrounded by fire as various pieces of food flew upwards before the flames covered the screen, changing to a scene of the 92nd Generation Prodigies in silhouettes, walking towards the camera as the title card appeared for a moment before the flames overwhelmed the screen and changed scenery.

 **(Omoi egaiteru IMEEJI yori haruka~ mukou~ gawa e~)** The scene shows various screen shots of Soma, Joichiro, Erina, Megumi, Alice, Ryo, Marui, Shun, Yuki, and Ryoko all looking at the camera with various experessions on their faces.  
 **(Tsukuri agete yuku shinjitsu wa mada tooku~ hatena~i tabiji~)** The next scene then showed various screenshots of Takumi, Isami, Hisako, Mito, Akira, Jun, Isshiki, Eizan, Shiki, Beatrix, Tendou, and Kurogasa all doing the same thing as the first batch.

 **(Tagai no PURAIDO wo togi sumaseyou ze)** The next scene then changed to show various characters in the form of alumni, teachers, other support characters, and the headmaster of Tōtsuki Academy.  
 **(Kotoba nante kazari wa hadakesaserya ii)** The scene then changes to four women alumni of Tōtsuki Academy before changing to Erina who looks to the sky with a look of content on her face.

 **(Butsukariai, migakareteiku~ Rolling Stone~)** On each beat of the music, we see various scenes of the cast and the various events that happened during their time at the Academy before it switched to Soma and Kurogasa who had their backs towards each other surrounded by various chef students ready to take them down, but they smirked at each other before they charged at them ready to take the challenge.

 **(Deai wa SHOCKWAVE! SHOCKWAVE! Mada shiranai sekai e~)** The next scene then shows various students standing on top of floating kitchen knives in the sky, that were all pointed towards the sun.  
 **(Aruki hajimeta, mubou na chousensha sa)** Soma, Megumi, Shun, Ryoko, Marui, and Yuki stood on their kitchen knives on one side while Ryo, Takumi, Alice, Hisako, Shiki, and Beatrix were opposite of them and the two lines of knives clashed and parried against each other,  
 **(Te ni shita yaiba de ashita wo kirihirakeba iin darou?)** Akira stood on top of a large cinnamon stick and waved his hand forward and golden beams of light shot of the cinnamon sticks striking the other kitchen knives down.  
 **(Dareka no mono ja nai… jibun dake no STORY)** But Soma's and Ryo's survive as they flew towards Akira's cinnamon stick and clashed. Soma, Ryo, and Akira then noticed one more kitchen knife floating in the sky, showing Kurogasa standing on it with Erina looking on at him.

 **(Cause we're still ROUGH DIAMONDS on the ro~ad!)** Kurogasa then jumped off doing a corkscrew flip then pivoted his body to dive down for a flying kick. As he dived down, a faint image of a certain red-armored beetle warrior overlaps him as he kicks the screen causing it to turn white and the screen shattered into pieces revealing a group shot of silhouetted members of the Elite Ten with a dark figure towering over them with a sinister smile before the scene changed to a group shot of the 92nd Generation Prodigies to end the song.

* * *

 **Dish 16:** Soupe de Poisson Ramen

"Welcome back everyone! After our brief intermission, It's now time for the second match of the first round!" Urara announced. "And here come the candidates!" She said, gesturing to one corner of the stadium as Megumi came out of the corner, with her suitcase of tools in tow. "Here is our dark horse candidate, Tadokoro Megumi, who passed at the very last minute!"

Just then, Ryo came out of his corner from the other side, "Her opponent is Candidate Ryo Kurokiba, who tied with Soma Yukihira and Kurogasa Kururugi for second place!" He moved silently and lazily as if he was still waking up.

"Ganbatte! Megumi!" Yuki yelled as she held out a big banner while Marui, Shun, Daigo, Shoji, Isami, and Takumi had fans out with Megumi's name and picture on there.

"Why do they write names on fans, Bro?" Isami asked his brother.

"It's one of Japan's mysteries." Takumi answered.

"They suddenly have a strange splashy vibe around them…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"Yup…" Beatrix said holding a body pillow of Megumi.

"Uh… why do you have that?" Soma asked, pointing to the pillow.

"What? It was on sale," Beatrix said.

"…" The males just stared at her.

"Anyone else notice something strange with that?" Marui asked.

"Nothing strange. I'm sleepy and these chapters don't write themselves!" Beatrix said before sleeping on her pillow.

"Let's… just go along with it." Kurogasa muttered.

"The candidates are set! This match's theme is?" Urara said, gesturing to the titantron screen. "Ramen!"

Senzaemon stood up and announced,

"CHOURI KAISHIN!"

 ***GONG!***

* * *

 **第四十三回秋の選抜** **-** **第** **二**

43rd Autumn Elections - Round Two

 **田所恵** **vs.** **黒木場リョウ**

Megumi Tadokoro vs. Ryo Kurokiba

 **Theme:** Ramen

"You're always full of surprises aren't you, Senzaemon? Coming up with challenging topics every year." Oizumi chuckled.

"Variety is the spice of life." The old man stated. "Ramen became an integral part of Japan's history during the war recovery period. Its popularity was due to their affordable taste and the ease of access thanks to noodle carts. And now it has become a Japanese cuisine that's gone global with limitless amount of potential for the depth of flavor and the amount of time preparing it."

"Zzzz…" Beatrix snored with a comical bubble coming out of her nose before it popped. "Wah?" she stated before cupping her hands over her mouth, "START THE BATTLE! I gotta go to Queen's fic soon!"

"Uh… who?" Soma blinked.

"Sorry, been working too hard, thinking my mind is dying… zzzzz…" She quickly entered back to a state of sleep.

"What's with _her_? She looked she didn't get any sleep at all…" Kurogasa muttered to Ryoko.

"Must have been another rough night for her." Ryoko answered.

"I swear, I didn't finger your wife mister mafia boss… twas Kurogasa… I know where he lives zzz…" She sleep talk with a dark smirk on her face.

"…" Kurogasa could only stay silent, as he tried to ignore what Beatrix just said, with eyes closed while one of them twitched as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot repeatedly.

"Ryo made seafood curry in the preliminaries. No doubt that he'll try to do it here too." Marui said.

"Look," Mito said, pointing to the titantron screen as they Ryo making a dark broth, draining whatever stock was in the strainer and into the broth. "That broth is based on stock taken entirely from fish heads and bones!"

"Scorpionfish, conger eel, flounder, and red gurnard…" Ryoko identified.

"It's going to be a strong broth for sure." Shun said. "It'll be a seafood broth with all the strong flavors of fish guts and shrimp innards…"

"A-ha! Look at that! It seems that he was been able to avoid any fishiness thus far!" Oizumi noticed with excitement.

 _'Like I thought, Kurokiba-kun is making a rich broth from seafood.'_ Megumi thought as she looked over her shoulder while stirring her ingredients in her pot. _'Add strained paitan soup to the stock… and simmer the broth!'_ She then took the large pot and strained it to another large pot.

"Yawn, sounds good rich food is a great way to wake up for breakfast." Beatrix added her opinion to the conversation.

"Look, Megumi is using dried scallops to make her stock." Ryoko noticed.

"Wait, so Megumi's also making a seafood broth?" Yuki asked.

"No, they may be both using seafood, but in contrast to Kurokiba's rich broth, Megumi chose a light broth." Marui said.

"Light vs. Dark, of course." Kurogasa added. "I thought the broth was light."

"Huh?" Soma asked. "What do you mean?"

"The other day, before the tournament, I brought in a package for Megumi. It was from her hometown."

* * *

 _"Oi, Megumi-chan! You got a package!" Kurogasa said, as he came into the kitchen with a box in tow, seeing Megumi testing her ramen broths, which turned out to be failures. "Megumi-chan?"_

 _"Gah, it's no good!" Megumi panicked. "When I try to make a rich broth, the flavors don't come together!"_

 _"Ano, Megumi-chan?" Kurogasa said again, now gaining her attention, "You got a package from your mom."_

 _"If it's a picture of her boobs, I call it!" Beatrix screamed out from the hallway._

 _"No it's not!" Kurogasa shouted, before turning to Megumi. "Here." He said, presenting her a letter, which Megumi took and read it._

'Megumi, congratulations in entering the Autumn Elections. Although I can't be with you to cheer you on, because of work, I wish you the best of luck. I'm sending you ingredients from home.'

 _"Okaa-san…" Megumi smiled fondly, holding the letter close to her._

 _"Uwhoaaaa… look at these." Kurogasa said, impressed, looking into the box, "Iriko, shiitake mushrooms, dried squid," He said, looking at the box that had them and a lot of other canned ingredients that were stuffed in there. "Wow, and they're all top quality too, even the canned food. You gonna make something with these?" He asked wondering what her plan is with the gifts she received. Megumi looked at one ingredient in particular and something clicked in her mind. With a smile, she nodded._

 _"Un!"_

 **End Flashback**

* * *

"Those ingredients she's using are from her home." Kurogasa smiled. "It's as if everyone from her hometown is supporting her right now."

"Sounds nice…" Beatrix said sweetly, "Wish I had something like that…"

"Still, can Megumi's broth compete against the impact of Kurokiba's?" Takumi questioned.

"Of course it can! Megumi's hometown is a harbor town!" Yuki said. "She's his equal in terms of seafood knowledge!"

"Ara, how interesting. So it's two people who grew up in harbor towns against each other." A familiar voice said, making everyone turn to… Alice?

"A-Ali-chan?" Kurogasa blinked.

"Hi~!" Alice chirped, suddenly hugging Kurogasa's arm.

"O-Oi." Kurogasa sweat dropped.

"So a battle between poor people? Damn, should have made a flyer." Beatrix said with a cruel smile.

"Seriously, where's Shiki now? He should be done." Kurogasa sighed.

* * *

"REMIND ME WHY WE ARE BEING SHOT AT?!" Shiki roared before getting a sniper rifle to shoot at some security guards.

"Why else?! That bastard's doing all he can to make sure we don't steal the treasure!" A blonde-haired teen with a skull mask said.

"Oh… THEN REMIND ME WHY I AM STILL WORKING WITH YOU IDIOTS… SAVE FOR THE GIRLS!" He said as he placed a hand on his face. "No choice… ZA WARUDO!"

"No, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait!" The skull-masked teen cried out.

"Oh great… here he goes again…" A young male with a fox mask sighed.

"DONE!" Shiki said covered in the enemies blood… before spitting out a hand. "Weird thing? That was from last _week_!"

"Ugh… gross!" A female teenager with a red-cat mask blanched.

"How much longer? I got get to a tournament in a few…" Shiki said before looking around for his leader. "Where's Jester? She's missing…"

"Just give her time! She's got this!" A female teen with an iron mask said. "You know how she is."

Shiki sighed as he raised his hands up and a girl falling onto them, "Hey Jest…"

"Hi… sorry, I dropped in on ya." The girl person apologized, leaning in closer to Shiki only for him to purposely drop her.

"No…"

* * *

"You said, they're both from harbor towns?" Soma asked.

"That's right. Ryo-kun grew up next to the sea." Alice said as she looked to Ryo who was preparing a huge pile of lobster and sweet shrimp shells. That was when it started going crazy, crushing all of that into fine powder, shocking the audience.

"Good grief, psycho-much?" Kurogasa muttered.

"He's been like that since we were kids when I met him. Ryo-kun's been a head chef since he was very young." Alice said. "That's just the kind of chef he is."

"Damn, must be crazy good or very scary as a kid." Beatrix said darkly.

"Oh, you have no idea~!" Alice giggled.

"Megumi~! Don't let any of this get to you! We got your back!" Yuki cheered holding up the Polar Star flag.

"E~h…?" Megumi looked at the part of the crowd with a sheepish smile.

"What the hell's that?" Ryo asked disdainfully.

"O-Oh, they're friends from my dorm…" Megumi said timidly.

"I don't like this at all." Ryo growled. "I feel sick to my stomach whenever I see a bunch of chefs palling around! Chefs are all about winning or being beaten. There can be nothing else!"

"Are you… sure about that?" Megumi asked unsurely.

"Huh…?"

"Isn't it important for people to work together in cooking, too?"

"The kitchen is a battlefield!" Ryo snapped, making Megumi almost flinch. "Cooking is about power! You wouldn't understand because you were sheltered as a kid! All your cooking needs to do is to bring your opponent to their knees. That's it. People who don't get that can only make food with weak flavor! Get it through your thick skull! The cooking the rest of you have been doing is just trash- a game of pretend!"

"Teme! What's his prob-" Kurogasa was about to say something, but Alice held him back. "Ali-chan-"

"It's his way of showing respect… in a really weird possible homocidal way~" She chipped sweetly as Kurogasa sweatdrop at her cheefulness.

"That's not the point, he's-"

"You're wrong." Megumi suddenly said.

"Huh…?" Ryo got out.

"What I… at least, what I've encountered is…" Megumi got out, before her timer beeped and she pressed it hard. "…is nothing like trash!" She said, before running over to her pot to check on her vegetables. _'The vegetables have been parboiled.'_ She said in her mind before moving to the next step. _'Mix two types of soy sauce together, then keep the temperature around 80 degrees Celsius to preserve the flavor.'_ She then took a saucer and sampled it. "Yosh…"

"Good, she's staying calm." Shun said.

"Yeah, she's getting each task done without wasting any time." Soma nodded.

 _'What determines the ramen's flavor is the stock.'_ Erina thought as she was watching from afar in the corner. _'There can be no cloudiness in the light broth she chose for her dish.'_

Megumi then slowly removed the lid of her pot and the inside of the pot seemed to shine.

"Beautiful…" Senzaemon said in approval. "It shines, and is crystal clear." Even the judges were impressed.

"Don't say bad things…" Megumi said, before turning around to face Ryo, with determination in her eyes. "About the people who have encouraged me!"

"GRRRRR!"

"A-Although you can keep it to yourself!" She squealed out as Ryo show an enraged look at her.

* * *

Shiki was about to jump out from a helicopter before looking at his leader, "Remind me when and how you got a chopper?!" He screamed over the blades that were causing his voice to be drawn out.

"It's not what you think!" Jester shouted.

"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! ANYWAY, GOTTA GO HELP MY FRIEND, BUG YOU LATER!" HE roared jumping off as he fall down quickly.

"D-Did he save LOVE!?"

LINE BREAK

"I wonder where Shiki-kun is…" Megumi wonder wishing he can cheer her on.

 ***CRASH~!***

"OHMYGODIDIDN'TPACKAPARACHUTE!" Everyone looked to see Shiki crash down from the ceiling to land on-

"GAH~!"

Kurogasa…

Everyone looked shocked as everyone in the vicinity of the crash suddenly backed off while the dust cloud cleared.

"Ow… get! OFF!" Kurogasa shouted as he shoved the guy away.

"Sorry, seemed my leader didn't pack me a chute." Shiki said puffing out his suit.

"Aw mou~! Why did you have to crash in on us like that?!" Alice puffed her cheeks. "Ojii-sama's gonna make pay for the damage with that hole you made!" She added, pointing upward to saw that he indeed made a huge hole in the ceiling.

"Here, my boss will pay for it." He said taking out his wallet to hand a 'Phantom' card to her.

"…Why do you like a gigolo?" Beatrix asked, "I mean I would like it if you take one of the girls in that but it's kinda…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Shiki waved off, dusting himself off. "Anyways, what did I miss?"

"They're just about almost done, making their ramen dishes." Kurogasa groaned as he managed to sit back down, albeit painfully. "Itetete…"

"Oh then, YO MEGUMI! KICK THAT LAZY, and possible, BIPOLAR ASS! GO AND WIN!" he roared grabbing Yuki's banner and held it up.

"Hey, that's mine!" Yuki shouted.

"S-Shiki-kun!" Megumi squeaked. She then composed herself as she nodded, "Un!" And with that, she continued to finish up her ramen dishes. As the minutes continued to dwindle down, the judges got out of their seats and watched from the counter, causing murmurs of surprise. "Eh?" She squeaked.

"You don't mind do you?" Oizumi asked. "Watching the chef work at the counter in a ramen shop is one of the pleasures of ramen." He then looked to the crystal clear soup. "It's even more beautiful and fragrant up close!"

"The toppings seem to be mostly vegetables." Seishu said. "This looks promising."

"…I want a bowl…" Shiki blushed as his stomach was famished, and the food his friend served look downright good.

"Candidate Kurokiba seems to have finished first!" Urara announced as Ryo did as she said.

"Saa, eat up. Soupe de Poisson Ramen." Ryo said darkly, presenting his dish. This seafood ramen dish combined French Cuisine's soupe de poisson with ramen to create a fusion dish that is both hearty and full of impact. The toppings included three types of cheese, rouille, tenkasa and rusk that was covered with echiré butter. It was combined with a generous coating of crushed dried crustacean shells which include lobster and shrimps to the toppings, broth and noodles.

"Soupe de Possion, a southern French soup based on stock made from fish heads, bones, and the shells of shellfish." Seishu said.

"He adapted it into ramen." Oizumi stated.

"It's not that tough really." Shiki started as Kurogasa looked at him, "Yeah what? Besides sweets and booze, i dabble in all food arts."

"Well then, let's have a taste." Oizumi said, as he took a spoonful of soup and tasted it. His eyes widened as tiny veins crept up in his eyes. "The innards of shrimp and fish, form a rich, cohesive taste… what a ferocious flavor!" He then tried it with the noodles and the veins in his eyes grew a bit larger. "Gah, it's making me feel faint! This umami is violent!"

"The topping consists of three types of cheese," Seishu noticed. "Rouille made from aioli sauce added with chili peppers, and tempura batter bits actings as crouton stand-ins! And the rusk, it's been smeared with Echire butter, then toasted golden brown." He then took a piece of rusk and bit it, his eyes now having the same bloodshot eyes as his fellow judge. "Gah, he was crushing dried shells containing concentrated flavor!"

"Oh god, they turn shadows! Quick someone hand me a gun and some gin!" Shiki said holding his hand. "Or just some gin…"

"So you've finally realized what's going on." Ryo said darkly. "That crushed powder is everywhere in this ramen, from the soup stock to the butter on the rusk!"

"The umami factors in shrimp are glycine, algine, and proline since crustaceans have the highest concentration of those factors among all seafood." Alice explained. "He pulverized shells containing all that umami and used the powder directly in the dish, so of course the result is incredibly delicious."

"I see." Senzaemon said, after tasting it. "The flavor is so violent. For this man, having others eat his food…"

* * *

 _In a barren wasteland, that was dark and dreary, Ryo stood tall having black clothes and a trench coat, all the judges were knocked out cold, with their faces bruised and teeth punched out, while blood trickled to the ground._

 _"…is like an all-out fist fight." Senzaemon added as he stood there in front of Ryo having dark clothing as well, his muscular body being exposed while having a long toothpick in his mouth and a hat on his head. "He spent his whole like making everyone concede defeat."_

 _"How long are you gonna keep putting on yours air, old man?" Ryo goaded. "It's just you and me now." With a loud roar, he pulled back his fist and punched._

* * *

All of a sudden, Senzaemon suddenly went bare-chested… without even moving!

"You've got some balls forcing me to go bare-chested," Senzaemon said darkly, with his eyes being the same intensity.

"UWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The crowd shouted in excitement.

"…" Kurogasa remained silent as his head was bowed down, the bangs of his hair covering his eyes.

"Megumi's about to get her dish evaluated, but the crowd's just so…" Yuki said worriedly.

"Yeah… hold up." Shiki said before turning on his phone, "Yeah it's me, send the text." Quickly shutting it off, the crowd who were belitting Megumi now turn akawardly silent.

"What… just happened?" Soma asked. "Everyone just went quiet."

"Everyone has dirt, so I just told a friend that I have it if they keep being mean to Megumi." Shiki said darkly as his eyes were shadow with darkness making look like a gentle mad man.

"Guys look," Ryoko said, as they looked to see Megumi who was still concentrating on her ramen.

"Looks like she's not letting all of that overwhelm her." Marui said. "She's staying focused on her dish."

Soon, Megumi managed to finish her ramen in time and presented it to the judges, "Here is my ramen dish. Please enjoy." She said, presenting her Kozuyu Chicken Soy Sauce Ramen. She knew she had to counter Ryo's rich ramen, so hopefully her light ramen would do just that.

"Hm…" Oizumi said, looking at the ramen dish Megumi made. "It's an impressive light-broth ramen that is also pleasing to the eye. But after having tasted Ryo Kurokiba's rich seafood ramen, how can hers possibly measure up to its impact?" He said, before the judges had a sip of her soup. Their eyes widned in shock, before they tried the soup with the noodles. All of the audiences looked shocked in confusion.

"So strong…" Seishu muttered.

"Hmph…" Kurogasa finally smirked, still having his head down while the hair covered his eyes, "Shori no hosoku wa kimatta…"

"Huh?" the other Polar Star students said confused, looking at him.

"What a powerful umami!" Oizumi cried out, shocking the audience even further.

* * *

 **BGM: The Secret Ingredient Called Victory**

"Ehhhh?!" The Polar Star students looked back at the field.

"Isn't it supposed to be a light broth?!"

"No way, that's impossible, how can something so light be strong?!"

"What is this sweet umami I'm detecting in the clean flavor?" Oizumi asked.

"This combination of ingredients… it's kozuyu!" Seishu added.

"Hai! This dish uses kozuyu as a base. Finished with the addition of paitan soup and a soy sauce mix, this is my Kozuyu Chicken Soy Sauce Ramen!" Megumi explained.

"Kozuyu…" Ryo muttered.

"Kozuyu is a traditional regional cuisine of Aizu. It's a celebratory dish made from scallop stock, so she adapted a regional dish into ramen." Senzaemon said. "With the scallops playing a central role, the flavor rests on the solid foundation provided by the paitan soup."

"And in addition, the kaeshi employs of a mix of light and white soy sauce, which has a pronounced sweetness." Seishu added. "It pairs perfectly with kozuyu, which is also seasoned with soy sauce!"

"That still doesn't account for all the umami." Oizumi pointed out. "Where is the rest coming from?"

"It comes from the vegetables." Megumi said, surprising the judges, "The shiitake mushrooms, burdock root, and green beans you see in the topping, were all dried ingredients that were simmered."

"Sokka! Deying vegetables contentates their umami!" Marui understood, "Their flavor profiles would change completely from before! And all that umami has dissolved into the broth!"

"It's Megumi-chan's specialty after all." Kurogasa smirked.

"Oh, before you finish the noodles, please try the paste in the small bowl." Megumi said, gesturing to them. "Add as much as you'd like into the broth." The judges looked curious, and decided to do just that. Upon tasting it, they were shocked yet again.

"The acidity is eye-opening," Senzaemon nodded in approval. "It brings the flavors together even tighter. May I ask what this is?"

"I combined Aizu chicken meat with thinly sliced white part of scallions and pickled plums along with seasoning. I thought it'd allow for a fun change in flavor." Megumi said.

"Naruhodo." Senzaemon nodded again, "It doesn't change the flavor, rather it harmonizes with the kozuyu's delicate flavors, and heighten the sweetness from the vegetables."

 **End BGM**

* * *

"Oi, your ramen…" Ryo said, making Megumi look at him, as his eyes glowed whitish-red. "Let me try some of it too!"

"H-Hai~!" Megumi squeaked as made an extra bowl for Ryo to taste.

"What a surprise." Seishu said. "Even though both dishes are seafood ramen, she was able to create this much umami, despite taking the dish in a completely different direction than Ryo Kurokiba's Soup de Poisson!"

"I know I can't possibly create a strong flavor like what you might expect from rich seafood or pork bone stock." Megumi said. "It requires great expertise, from preventing fishiness to adjusting the flavors. But… I thought I could manage to make a "strong" balanced ramen if I used kozuyu as a base, and emphasized the umami of scallops and vegetables!"

"You know I'd make a rich type of ramen, so you deliberately countered with a light ramen to compete with mine." Ryo said, before his eyes looked at her with craze and interest. "Omoshire na, Tadokoro Megumi~!" He laughed madly.

 _'Deep within her slight frame burns a quiet determination.'_ Oizumi thought. _'She did not fear her formidable opponent and chose to meet him head-on in a fierce umami battle! Both of them poured in their sheer willpower into their ramen, and it has manifested itself as flavor!'_

At that point, for some strange reason, Ryo's and Megumi's aura burst out of their body, red and blue respectively.

"Crap, Where's my Joestar outfit?! Dammit gotta make due with what I have…" Overdramatically placing a hand on his face, his eyes were only shown as he spoke, "Show us… your stands…"

"Beat them to a pulp, Soooooup de Poissoooon!" Ryo yelled as the red aura shot of his body and formed into some sort of humanoid lobster-like creature.

In response, Megumi's blue aura shot out and it morphed into a female humanoid creature that somewhat resembles scallops, via the scallop shells on various part of its body. "My Scallops and Paitan have the resolve to defeat any foe, no matter how formidable!"

"What the heck's going on?!" Kurogasa gawked comically.

"Foolish child, those who do not know the power of Persona- ahem, Stands!" He roared with blue fire around him.

"GAH! He's on fire!" Yuki freaked out. "Put it out! Someone throw water!"

 ***SPLASH!***

"Aw man… I can finally call the fire on cue…" he pouted as he was doused by Ryoko and now sopping wet.

Back on the field, the two "Stands" went head to head and started throwing punches and kicks at each other, in rapid succession.

"EbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitanEbiPaitan!"

"Senzaemon, what is going on?! This is not natural!" Oizumi panicked as Senzaemon could only stare at the battle silently.

"I… really don't know what to make of this…" Kurogasa said stunned. "Bea, you're the fourth wall expert, what's going on?"

"It seems that Shiki breaking the fourth wall, made this usually imagination also break the wall. So a fourth wall breaking a fourth wall… that's like… sixteen walls…"

"That's…" Kurogasa sweat dropped.

At the point, Senzaemon picked up the big brush and dabbed it in the black ink before writing a name. A few moments later…

"IKKAISEN DAI-NI SHIAI! SHOSHA WA…!"

 ***BOOM!***

Everyone looked on in surprise as… the Pai Tan "Stand", slowly faded away to nothing, Megumi's eyes were wide with shock too as Senzaemon had finished writing the name.

 **黒** **  
** **木** **  
** **場** **  
** **リ** **  
** **ョ** **  
** **ウ**

"RYO KUROKIBA!"

* * *

"UWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!" The crowd cheered as Ryo's "Stand" disappeared back into his body. Ryo then took off his headband, going back to his lazy dull self and walked away without another word.

"No way… Megumi-chan lost…" Kurogasa muttered.

"Megumi…" Yuki said sadly as were some of the others who looked on.

"Megumi-san…" Shiki said with a sad look. "You did good…" he nodded to himself as the other agree with him.

"Minna-san, that concludes today's program! The third, fourth, and fifth matches will be held tomorrow. Have a safe trip home." Urara said.

"C'mon, let's go get Tadokoro." Soma said as he stood up

"Megumi!" Yuki shouted as she ran over to her. At that point, Megumi fell to her knees and she was… comically crying?

"Kurokiba was so scary~!" Megumi sobbed, as Yuki held her shoulder crying comically with her.

"I totally get it! You were like a rabbit being hunted down by a wild dog!" Yuki said, but then all of a sudden, there was some clapping. And it came from… the audience?

"Good job, Megumi!"

"You came a long way!"

"That was an awesome dish you made!"

"Give us a taste sometime!"

"I didn't think you'd get that far against Kurokiba!"

"Great match!"

"It wasn't a fluke that you passed the prelims!"

"Well done, Megumi." Hojo smiled at her.

"Everyone." Megumi said, surprised, before bowing to everyone.

"Heh… looks like there's really nothing to worry about." Kurogasa smiled fondly.

* * *

"Good work judges," Erina said, as the judges walked down the hallway. "Your cars are waiting for you." She added. As Senzaemon walked past his granddaughter, something felt odd.

"Hm?!"

"Ojii-sama, is something wrong?" Erina asked.

"No it's nothing, I'm heading to the washroom." Senzaemon said as he walked off further with Erina looking at him in confusion.

"Yo, Na-chan." Kurogasa waved, as he approached her.

"Hey Kuro…" she greeted without any emotion.

"Hm? Doushita?" Kurogasa blinked. "You okay?"

"I don't feel good, like something bad is coming…"

"Bad…" Kurogasa muttered, before his eyes widened, "You don't think…"

"I don't know!" she said quickly before regretting her tone. "Sorry… I didn't…"

"C'mere…" Kurogasa muttered as he pulled Erina in for a hug.

She sighed in relief hearing his strong heart, lull her heart to being calm… "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I'm here for you." Kurogasa murmured. "I'll always protect you, Na-chan. I won't leave you."

Wrapping her arms around him, she smiled softly, "I know… can we stay like this for awhile?"

"Anything for you," Kurogasa said, before kissing her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the washroom, Senzaemon was washing his hands.

"Megumi Tadokoro, was it?" Senzaemon muttered. "It seems the girl possesses even greater power that still lies dormant within her." He then looked down to his hakama pants. The reason? His loincloth fell off. "I went "bare" before I even realized it." He then chuckled to himself amusedly. "The 92nd class _is_ indeed a generation of prodigies."

* * *

 **Fen:** And there we go! Another chapter down! Sadly, Megumi lost. It'd be great if she won but then come the second round, she won't last long anyway, so yeah…

 **AQ:** And no we're just adding Persona 5 elements for the hell of it… and maybe the fact that King might make a fic for it with Naruto XP

 **Fen:** And if you hadn't noticed, yes, that _was_ a female version of Joker you saw in that. Jester. And I'll admit… Female Joker _is_ cute.

 **AQ:** YU~P THANK ME FEN~!

 **Fen:** Yeah thanks for that. Go look up the picture of female Joker everyone. It's actually pretty good. Shout out to whoever drew it.

 **AQ:** Its the one holding Fox~! Anyway, if you want to send Me and King PM's if you want that story to come out he still needs to be convinced XP

 **Fen:** But until then, stay tuned for Hisako vs. Akira! See you on the next Main Course!


End file.
